Generative AI in local government: what is allowed, and how to set it up
Short answer
Public bodies may use generative AI, but under stricter conditions than companies. The AI Act requires public bodies that deploy high-risk AI to assess the impact on fundamental rights and register the use. National policies add their own conditions: the Dutch government-wide position of April 2025, for example, allows wider use after a risk analysis, with reliable models and trained staff, and prefers European, open-source and in-house solutions.
From cautious to broader: the Dutch example
In December 2023 the Dutch central government’s interim position was strict: non-contracted applications such as public chatbots were in principle not allowed, and every application required a prior risk analysis. In practice that was often seen as too restrictive.
The government-wide position of April 2025 replaces it. It also applies to municipalities, provinces and water authorities, and gives civil servants more room, for example to handle permits or answer residents’ questions faster. The conditions remain: a clear risk analysis, reliable models and responsible use.
What a public body needs to arrange
- A risk analysis per application, with a DPIA where personal data is processed. See A DPIA for generative AI.
- AI literacy: staff know what the model can do and where it goes wrong. See AI literacy.
- An overview: which AI applications exist, for what and with which data. In the Netherlands, high-impact algorithms belong in the national Algorithm Register. See Setting up an AI register.
- AI Act: public bodies that deploy high-risk AI must carry out a fundamental rights impact assessment and register the use in the EU database.
- Security and records: AI use falls under public-sector security baselines, and conversations and outputs may be subject to freedom of information and archiving rules.
In-house control and European models
The Dutch position states a preference for European and open-source solutions, and for in-house, controlled alternatives to public chatbots, such as the internal assistant of the province of South Holland. That matches concerns about foreign jurisdiction over government data. See The CLOUD Act and your European data.
Your own AI environment with open-weight models meets both wishes: the models are transparent and residents’ data stays in your own infrastructure.
werqly for public bodies
werqly runs a dedicated AI node in your server room or in a locked rack in a datacentre, with open-weight models from, among others, European developers. In werqly AI Control you decide per department which sources and automations are available, and the audit log provides the overview that risk analysis, register and accountability require. See AI for local government.
Frequently asked questions
Questions on this topic
May civil servants use ChatGPT?
That depends on national policy. In the Netherlands, the government-wide position of April 2025 gives more room than the 2023 interim position, but under conditions: a prior risk analysis, reliable models and responsible use. Each application must be assessed against those conditions.
Does the Dutch position also apply to municipalities?
Yes. It was drawn up together with other tiers of government and applies not only to central government but also to municipalities, provinces, water authorities and implementing agencies.
Does an AI application have to be registered?
Under the AI Act, public bodies must register their use of high-risk AI in the EU database. In the Netherlands, high-impact algorithms also belong in the national Algorithm Register. An internal writing assistant usually falls under neither, but does belong in your own AI register.
Why do public bodies choose their own AI environments?
Because policies such as the Dutch position prefer European, open-source and in-house solutions, and because residents’ data then does not fall under foreign jurisdiction or an external vendor’s terms.
Sources
- Government of the Netherlands — Government broadens position on generative AI (22 April 2025, Dutch)
- Algorithm Register of the Dutch government
- AI Act — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Articles 27 and 49
This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules and guidance change; check the sources listed or ask your lawyer or DPO if in doubt.