AI Won't Wait for Your Municipality to Be Ready. Start Anyway.

We've been working recently with a handful of municipalities on AI strategy and helping them move toward responsible AI adoption. This work has been inspired by leaders at King and others, and more recently we've been excited to see a MISA AI Special Interest Group take shape.

For us, it's been a great opportunity to think deeply about the opportunities, implications and considerations around responsible municipal AI adoption. We see a real mixture of fear and excitement out there, and we wanted to be upfront: as you might expect from a service transformation firm, our feet are solidly in the AI optimist camp.

We believe AI is a genuine paradigm shift. Not a fad. Not a buzzword. A real shift in how work gets done. And it should neither be ignored nor feared. We also don't think anyone should be hiding their use of it.

How We're Actually Using AI

At Perry Group, we are unashamedly using AI as part of our day to day work. And honestly, you probably should be too.

Here's what that looks like for us in practice:

• Critiquing our own work and stress-testing our recommendations

• Identifying blind spots in reports and documents

• Preparing for council and leadership pushback before it happens

• Drafting job descriptions

• Building apps and troubleshooting PowerAutomate integrations

• Researching ideas from across sectors and jurisdictions

• Analyzing processes, budgets, performance data and improvement opportunities

• Brainstorming and building on ideas

Always with our professional judgment front and centre. Always sanity-checking the output. The tool does not replace the thinking. It sharpens it.

We've also started being transparent about our use. We've adopted a simple acknowledgement where applicable: This article was prepared with the assistance of AI.

We've Seen This Movie Before

As a person of a certain vintage, when you've been around long enough, you start to notice repeating patterns in the technology industry.

The computer. Email. Databases. The internet. The smartphone. Every single one of these was met with real concerns, legitimate risks and plenty of naysayers. Every single one became indispensable.

People don't like change. That part never changes. But once a technology has been invented, it doesn't get uninvented. It doesn't go back in the box.

Gradual experimentation and learning led most municipalities to adapt and adopt each of these earlier shifts, with the attendant policy, budget, process and training changes that came with them. And now, in most cases, they could not operate without them.

The Window Is Open. It Won't Stay Open Forever.

The cost of entry right now is curiosity and a bit of time. That's it. And it is the lowest it will ever be.

It will be harder to start tomorrow. Harder still the day after. The organizations that wait will face a steeper learning curve, a wider gap to close and more complex tools to get their heads around.

And here's the thing people forget: AI is as bad as it's ever going to be right now. It is only going to get better, more capable and more tailored to what you need.

The Risks Are Real. The Opportunity Is Bigger.

Yes, there are real risks associated with AI. They need to be managed, not ignored. But we believe that over time, the benefits will far outweigh those risks.

Professionals and organizations that engage now will build an understanding of what these tools can do. They'll learn how to manage the risks properly, and that understanding will let them move into more sophisticated use cases that drive real value for their teams and their communities.

Those who wait will miss opportunities. They'll face steeper learning curves. And the gap between early adopters and late movers will only widen as these systems continue to evolve at pace.

Start Now. Start Imperfectly.

Approach AI with curiosity. Treat it as a skill to be developed, not a threat to be feared. Encourage your teams to experiment, share what they learn and build confidence through practice. Those who engage early, even imperfectly, will be the ones who adapt fastest.

This Is Just the Start of the Conversation

This article is the first in a series. We're going to be sharing a lot more about AI and municipalities over the coming months: practical guidance on responsible adoption, real use cases from the municipalities we're working with, policy frameworks that actually work and honest lessons learned along the way.

We're also putting together an upcoming webinar on AI for municipal leaders. Details are coming soon.

If you want to stay in the loop:

• Follow Perry Group on LinkedIn so our posts show up in your feed

• Subscribe to our newsletter for deeper dives, event invites and early access to new resources

We'll keep it grounded, practical and specific to the municipal world. No hype. No theory. Just what we're learning and seeing on the ground.

And if you're ready to get moving now and don't want to wait for the next article, reach out. We have AI education programs to help leadership teams and staff get up to speed, along with step by step frameworks, use cases and policies to help you take the first steps with confidence.

This article was prepared with the assistance of AI. 😊