Exclusive: Google revamps AI playbook for mayors
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Google is rolling out an updated "Mayors AI Playbook" with the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the group's Winter Meeting in Washington today, the company first told Axios.
Why it matters: Cities are spending more on technology, but many lack the expertise to deploy AI safely and at scale. Whoever helps them cross that gap could lock in years of government contracts.
The big picture: Google's first AI playbook for mayors was about awareness. Now, it's about action: a blueprint for implementing AI strategies at the local level.
What they're saying: "[T]he most important step you can take now is to just start. Don't wait for the perfect moment, the opportunity is now," Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and executive director, said in a statement.
- "AI is a tool that allows us to punch above our weight, while still being fiscally responsible," Michael Owens, mayor of Mableton, Georgia, said.
- The playbook aims to help local leaders experiment with and scale AI.
Between the lines: This isn't benevolence. It's customer acquisition.
- Mayors don't just buy "AI." They buy cloud, data modernization, cybersecurity, services, and long-term support — the tech stack underneath any serious deployment.
- In return, cities get tools that could fix long-standing challenges, Cris Turner, vice president of government affairs at Google, told Axios last June when it first released its playbook.
Zoom out: Google's Mayors AI Playbook is designed to help city leaders scale AI-driven solutions and programs through two parts:
- How to build an "AI-ready city" — governance, procurement, staffing and the basics needed to roll out tools safely and effectively.
- "AI in action" — use cases for city services like multilingual resident communications, call center modernization, document review and research.
Threat level: Google's competitors want their tech to run cities too.
- Nearly 30,000 San Francisco city employees use Copilot, powered by ChatGPT.
- Anthropic is building out a public sector team and offers partners across all branches of government access to Claude for $1.
- OpenAI, Google and Anthropic are government-approved AI vendors, which could simplify adoption for local entities.
Reality check: Demand is there, but execution lags.
- Almost half of 650 local government officials surveyed said AI use is low priority, according to a 2024 study from the International City/County Management Association.
- 77% said the biggest barrier to adoption was a lack of awareness and understanding.
- Any AI skills gap among government leaders could lead to tech disparities across cities, with those with leaders who embrace AI potentially getting a head start.
Zoom in: Google provided several examples of cities already deploying AI to save time.
- NYC faces over 100 billion weekly cyber threats. An AI-enabled platform analyzes risks, whittling them down to under 60 that staff can focus on.
- Miami is automating parts of the zoning verification process to speed up housing projects.
- San José has deployed the technology to allow for real-time language translation on its 311 portal.
The bottom line: Google and its rivals stand to profit as cities adopt AI.
- Early deployments suggest the technology can save overworked staff time, as long as it's implemented efficiently.
