Since then, it has primarily focused on introducing Microsoft Copilot and other large language models.
"A large language model is just a subset of AI — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, all those sorts of things," Ms McCallum says.
"We looked at it seriously in February of last year and we looked at what would be our approach to bringing those in, in a safe way. We started with Copilot. So Microsoft Copilot is a large language model based on the same type of training as ChatGPT, but it is ring-fenced in the Microsoft environment.
"So we knew it would have a lot of potential when it comes specifically to Microsoft Copilot, because it’s in the Microsoft suite, it has some real strengths around being able to take a Word document and convert it from a first draft to a PowerPoint presentation, or helping you to analyse large amounts of data in a spreadsheet.
"Those sorts of very specific Microsoft use cases will help you to find documents in your Windows or something. We knew it would help with that, but we also knew that it could help with converting some of our documents into plain English.
"It can explain something in a way that someone who doesn’t have prior knowledge of that subject can understand it. And because councils are so obviously technical in the way we think about things and communicate things, that can be a real help for us."
Efficiency is another benefit of AI, she says.
"Take for example the LTP [long-term plan] — the last LTP, we had approximately 600 submissions, but our previous LTPs had only been around, I think, 60 submissions.
"This was an incredible increase. Whilst we had that big increase in submissions, we didn’t have an increase in people.
"So when you take into account how careful we have to be with submissions, we have to read all of those submissions and then we have to consider their feedback and all those sorts of things, but there’s also an element of summarising or theming and that was one of the areas that we found AI was actually really useful."
For that case, the council implemented another AI called Claude to run through all of those submissions and provide themes. The themes were provided as per the consultation documents and then staff were able to check the AI’s categorisations.
"It was very, very accurate."
Since May, when the policy was implemented, AI has been used for tasks like document summarisation, plain language conversion and data analysis, while maintaining strict protocols to ensure accuracy, fairness and transparency.
"The council has been carefully integrating AI to enhance work efficiency, particularly in areas like processing submissions and document management, with clear guidelines prioritising human oversight, data privacy and ethical use — with a focus on using AI to augment staff capabilities rather than replace employees.
"Essentially, we will always have a person checking whatever AI does. We’re not using AI in a fully automated runaway and [we] make decisions, so we don’t have AI make decisions for us.
"It doesn’t use any of our data for training purposes. We haven’t extended the use to be, as I say, autonomous. If we were to get to that point we would let the public know."
A cross-functional AI Governance Group has been set up to ensure staff are able to harness the benefits of AI, while aligning to the AI policy and approved usage and ensuring unauthorised tools are not used.
The governance group will also track the effectiveness and value of the council’s AI investments.
Council’s 52 secure AI licences cost $21,000 annually — less than half the cost of one additional staff member. The licences are also ring-fenced, so no personal data or details will be used for training purposes or used elsewhere.
The council is taking a "fast follower" approach, collaborating with other local government entities to responsibly explore AI applications.
"We’re certainly leading from the perspective of other councils in Canterbury and the South Island have adopted the policy that we’ve written, and that’s the great thing about how AI is used in local government.
"We’re not all reinventing the wheel ourselves. We’re using this collective approach, and we’re talking about how we’re using it, what’s working, what’s not working, which is why our policy got shared wider and got adopted by other councils. That’s quite exciting."
