Shadow AI in local government: staff already use ChatGPT. Now what?
Short answer
Staff who run a letter through ChatGPT or have a report summarised by a free tool do so because it works and because there is no alternative. The Dutch central government has advised against uncontracted generative AI for official work since 2025. A ban alone moves the use to the private phone. What works: measure what happens, be clear about what is not allowed, and within weeks offer an environment of your own that is at least as good.
The reality
Ask in a team meeting and half the hands go up. Shortening an executive proposal, tidying an email to an angry resident, translating a council question, summarising a by-law: it all goes through public tools, often on a personal account, sometimes with a resident’s name and address in it. Not out of ill will, but because it works. What that means legally is set out in Is ChatGPT GDPR-compliant?
The Dutch government-wide position of April 2025 allows generative AI when conditions are met, and those conditions in practice exclude public tools without a contract and without a DPIA. In December 2024 the central government had a DPIA carried out on Microsoft 365 Copilot that found four high risks; only after changes by Microsoft was responsible deployment declared possible in September 2025, provided configuration and policy are right. That is the bar.
Measure first
- Network and proxy. Traffic to the known AI domains shows how much and from which departments. No names, just numbers.
- Ask. A short anonymous survey: which tools, for what, how often, with which data. People are honest when it is not an interrogation.
- Look at the output. Documents with the stylistic marks of a language model are easy to spot. That shows where it already sits in the primary process.
The result is usually: far more use than expected, concentrated in communications, legal affairs, policy and the contact centre.
Then three rules
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| No personal data or confidential documents in public tools | No names, addresses, files, draft decisions or internal papers. This is the GDPR and freedom-of-information law, not a house rule. |
| Public tools only for public material | Rewriting a press release or summarising a public report is fine, until there is an environment of your own. |
| Everything work-related in your own environment | Once that exists, the exception lapses and the policy becomes enforceable. |
Tie the rules to a short training per role; see AI literacy in local government by role. And put them in the information security policy; see Information security and AI in local government.
And an alternative that is better
The policy only holds if the alternative is at least as good as what people use now: fast, in the browser, with their own documents alongside. That is exactly what an environment of your own can offer and a public tool cannot: the by-laws, the policy and the file as sources, with answers that refer to them. See Rolling out an AI assistant in local government.
werqly supplies that environment as a dedicated node, on premises or in werqly Cloud, with open-weight models and werqly AI Control for roles, sources and logging. Roll-out takes weeks, not quarters, and with that the ban on public tools can actually take effect. See AI for local government.
Frequently asked questions
Questions on this topic
May civil servants use ChatGPT?
For public material without personal data it is not forbidden, but the Dutch government-wide position sets conditions that in practice exclude public tools without a contract and a DPIA for official work. With personal data or confidential documents it is a GDPR breach.
Does a ban work?
Only if there is an alternative. Without one, the use moves to the private phone, where you no longer see it. Measure first, set three clear rules and offer an environment of your own within weeks.
Is Microsoft Copilot allowed then?
The Dutch central government found four high risks in December 2024; after changes by Microsoft, responsible deployment has been declared possible since September 2025, provided configuration, policy and conscious use are right. That requires the same DPIA and the same rules as any other application.
How do you get staff over to your own environment?
Make it better: their own documents as sources, answers with references, the same speed. Take the first users from the departments where shadow use was highest; they know what they are missing.
Sources
- Government of the Netherlands — DPIA and FRAIA Microsoft 365 Copilot (December 2024, Dutch)
- Government of the Netherlands — Government broadens position on generative AI (April 2025, Dutch)
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.