At least 80% of governments worldwide are expected to use artificial intelligence (AI) agents to automate routine decision-making by 2028, according to Gartner Inc., a business and technology insights company, showing a major shift in how public services are delivered.
The firm said AI agents will help governments improve efficiency, reduce delays, and enhance citizen services by handling repetitive decisions at scale. These systems go beyond basic automation by using multimodal AI, conversational interfaces, and agent-based tools to analyze data and act on it.
“Government CIOs are under growing pressure to embed AI into decision-making capabilities rapidly and responsibly,” said Daniel Nieto, senior director analyst at Gartner. “The rise of multimodal AI, alongside conversational and agentic systems, has expanded what public organizations can automate, understand, and anticipate.”
Despite the momentum, governments still face structural challenges. In a Gartner survey of 138 public-sector respondents conducted between July and September 2025, 41% cited siloed strategies as a major barrier, while 31% pointed to outdated legacy systems.
“Technology modernization alone has not resolved these issues,” Nieto said.
As AI becomes key to decision-making, Gartner highlighted a shift toward decision intelligence (DI), a framework that focuses on governing decisions rather than just managing data or algorithms. DI emphasizes how decisions are designed, executed, monitored, and audited, which is critical in government settings where transparency and fairness are essential.
The survey found that 39% of respondents are investing in citizen trust, with improved service and satisfaction as key drivers. DI supports this by making decision processes more transparent and auditable.
“By governing decisions, rather than just isolated AI components, governments can better balance automation with human judgment, particularly in high-stakes or rights-impacting contexts,” Nieto said. “Regulated industries and governments cannot rely on opaque ‘black box’ systems for consequential decisions. DI elevates explainability from a technical requirement to a governance imperative.”
Gartner also predicts that by 2029, 70% of government agencies will require explainable AI (XAI) and human-in-the-loop (HITL) mechanisms for automated decisions affecting citizen services. These systems allow decisions to be reviewed, challenged, and overridden when necessary, ensuring accountability remains intact.
Citizen experience is becoming a top priority, with 50% of respondents ranking it among their top three goals. As automation reduces direct interaction, trust in system reliability and fairness becomes more important.
“When citizens receive what they need from the government automatically, direct interactions may decrease, making trust in the system’s reliability, fairness, and transparency even more critical,” Nieto said.
Gartner said DI will enable governments to move from reactive processes to proactive, personalized services, improving consistency while strengthening public trust.