Renfrewshire Council has launched a more than £5 million artificial intelligence programme aimed at changing how public services are delivered.
The council has appointed ICS.AI as its strategic partner for the three-year initiative, which will focus on improving efficiency, supporting staff and responding to financial and operational pressures.
The programme builds on the council’s previous work with ICS.AI, which developed Millie, its AI-powered phone assistant.
Renfrewshire, which serves more than 180,000 people in west-central Scotland, is among UK councils facing rising costs and increasing demand for services.
The new programme follows what is described as the most extensive AI transformation assessment undertaken by a Scottish local authority.
ICS.AI was selected through a competitive procurement process that began with more than 100 potential suppliers before 14 were shortlisted.
The first phase will upgrade Millie with generative AI and introduce a web-based Citizen Copilot to give residents improved access to information and services.
A Staff Copilot will also be introduced for eligible employees, providing secure AI tools to support daily tasks, meetings and case management.
AI agents will be used in high-demand areas including service inboxes, Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests, and complaints handling.
The council said human oversight will remain central, with AI intended to support staff rather than replace decision-making.
The programme will be delivered in three phases. The first, running from November 2026 to March 2028, will focus on lower-risk, established AI applications designed to deliver early results and build confidence.
The second phase will introduce more tailored tools, followed by wider transformation across council services in the third phase.
A formal governance framework will cover staff training, data protection, trade union engagement and regular transparency reporting.
Millie has handled hundreds of thousands of calls since launching in November 2024. It has received the Leading Innovation Award at the 2025 COSLA Excellence Awards and the Digital Public Services Award at the 2025 Scottish Public Service Awards.
ICS.AI is also working with other Scottish councils and is building a dedicated team in Scotland covering AI transformation, development and adoption.
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Patrick Murray, head of digital, transformation and customer services at Renfrewshire Council said: "We can no longer rely on traditional savings measures alone and need to find new ways of working to maintain high-quality services and meet future pressures.
"ICS.AI has already demonstrated what AI can deliver for Renfrewshire through Millie and has experience delivering similar transformation programmes across UK local government.
"We’re now building on that foundation to look at how AI can support our staff, improve services and help us work more efficiently."
Martin Neale, founder and CEO of ICS.AI said: "Renfrewshire is moving beyond experimentation with AI and putting it at the heart of how it transforms public services.
"What is particularly significant is the scale and rigour of the work that has gone into identifying where AI can make a genuine difference – not simply deploying technology for technology's sake.
"Renfrewshire is demonstrating what the next phase of public-sector AI looks like – applying proven technology across an organisation to give staff more capacity, improve services for residents and create a fundamentally more sustainable operating model."
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