Derby City Council:
From AI Pilots to the UK's First Unified AI Operating Model
1.4M
Phone Calls Handled
£7.5M
Identified Savings
56%
Call Deflection Rate
24/7
AI Front Door
Derby City Council has moved beyond isolated pilots to deliver the UK's first unified, organisation-wide AI operating model for local government, achieving £7.5m in identified savings while improving services for residents and staff.
Facing sustained pressure on services, rising demand and constrained resources, Derby recognised that incremental pilots and disconnected tools would never deliver transformation at scale. Instead, the Council chose to redesign how technology, people, governance and outcomes work together.
Working in partnership with ICS.AI, Derby implemented a single, unified AI platform spanning resident access, staff productivity and operational services, with safeguarding, ethics and value measurement embedded by design. This outcome-led approach has enabled faster, more accessible services for residents, freed staff to focus on complex, human-centred work, and created a practical, scalable blueprint for AI transformation in local government.
Derby’s experience is now informing wider national discussion on the role of AI in public services, with Parliamentary and House of Lords references highlighting how councils can adopt AI responsibly at scale while delivering tangible benefits for residents and long-term sustainability for the organisation.
The challenge: sustaining services under pressure
Like many councils, Derby faced a combination of financial, service and workforce pressures:
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Intensifying financial pressure
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Rising demand across high‑cost services such as adult social care
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The need to protect and sustain frontline services despite constrained resources
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Heavy reliance on the telephone, with over 60% of resident contact coming via phone
Incremental digital improvements were no longer sufficient. Derby recognised that point solutions would never deliver transformation at scale. What was needed was a single operating model that could simultaneously:
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A unified AI approach – not another pilot
Rather than procuring separate tools for customer services, staff productivity and automation, Derby implemented the SMART: Unified AI Platform, underpinned by an outcome‑first AI Target Operating Model. This created interconnected value loops across the organisation:
1. External AI Front Door (Residents): The UK’s first 24/7 AI‑powered local authority contact centre, handling resident enquiries across phone and web through a single intelligent interface trained on council services.
Following a generative AI upgrade in May 2025, the AI Front Door now provides more natural, context-aware responses, recognises distress or vulnerability, adapts tone and language, and delivers detailed answers without queues. Human colleagues remain available, with clear human-in-the-loop escalation for complex, sensitive, or vulnerable cases. This has transformed resident access while freeing staff to focus on work requiring human expertise.
2. Internal Staff Copilot (AI for All): Derby made a defining strategic decision: every office‑based staff member would have access to AI. This “AI for All” approach embeds AI into everyday work, enabling organisation-wide productivity gains and allowing staff to develop AI-native working habits. These conditions enable genuine culture change across the organisation – not just surface-level technology adoption.
Governance as configuration
Throughout this process, public trust was treated as foundational, not optional. Derby established an AI Compliance and Ethics Board and, crucially, embedded governance directly into the platform itself. Safeguarding rules, data protection controls, ethical and fairness controls, and audit trails operate continuously as part of the platform’s configuration, rather than relying solely on policy or manual processes.
This ensures:
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Consistent compliance across every service
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Clear accountability
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Automatic escalation where vulnerability or distress is detected
This approach – often described as “governance as configuration” – prevents ethical silos and allows AI to scale safely. When the AI detects indicators of emotional distress or vulnerability, appropriate human escalation is triggered.
From pilots to measurable impact
Derby’s move to a unified AI operating model has delivered measurable improvements in customer access and experience:
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1.4 million phone calls and 115,000 web interactions handled
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2.9 million questions answered
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56% call deflection following the generative AI upgrade
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Customer waiting times halved
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Misdirected calls reduced by over 85%
The AI Front Door operates 24/7/365, removing queues and ensuring residents can access services when they need them – not just during office hours. Human colleagues remain available for residents who need or prefer human support, with clear human-in-the-loop escalation for complex, sensitive or vulnerable cases.
Accessibility and inclusion by design
The service supports Derby’s nine most common community languages alongside English and is compatible with assistive technologies. Faith and community groups, and people with accessibility needs, were involved in co‑design, ensuring inclusivity was embedded from the outset.
For residents like Sam and Alex – brothers living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy transitioning into adult social care – the AI at the Front Door provides accessible, step-by-step guidance that enables greater independence.
Organisation‑wide transformation
Following early success with the Front Door (through the SMART: Customer Service AI Trial), Derby undertook a structured, council‑wide AI assessment involving over 100 staff across 44 workshops. This identified 261 potential AI opportunities, with 54 prioritised use cases across key service areas. Initial focus areas include:
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Financial outcomes
Derby’s unified approach enables identified savings rather than projected benefits - £7.5m identified to date, including:
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£2m in adult social care
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£1m through the AI contact centre
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£900k in income and debt management
These efficiencies support financial sustainability while protecting – and in many cases improving – service quality.
Derby City Council AI transformation at a glance:
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Why this is different?
Most councils experimenting with AI deploy individual point solutions – chatbots here, copilots there – which can increase cost, fragment governance and limit impact. Derby took a fundamentally different, organisation-wide approach, enabling the Council to move from pilots to millions in identified, evidence-backed savings:
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One unified platform – reducing cost, complexity and risk compared to siloed tools
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Outcome-first by design – use cases were prioritised based on financial, service and workforce impact
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Governance embedded, not bolted on – safeguarding, ethics and compliance operate continuously as platform configuration
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AI for All – universal staff access accelerated skills, confidence and culture change
This is why Derby can report identified savings and measurable outcomes, rather than aspirational projections.
Why Derby matters
Derby City Council’s achievement is not about deploying a single AI tool. It demonstrates that:
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AI transformation requires a Target Operating Model, not disconnected technology
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Point solutions increase cost and risk; unified platforms reduce both
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AI capability compounds over time through learning, skills development and embedded governance
Derby has shown that organisation‑wide, AI‑native transformation is achievable for UK local government – delivering better outcomes for residents, sustainable savings for the organisation, and a replicable blueprint for others to follow.
Derby’s approach is now informing wider national discussion on the role of AI in public services, with Parliamentary and House of Lords references highlighting how councils can use AI to deliver financial sustainability while improving outcomes for residents.
Councillor Hardyal Dhindsa, Cabinet Member for Digital and Organisational Transformation, describes how the Council has moved ‘from discussing the potential of technology to seeing tangible benefits in the hands of our residents’, with Derby’s generative AI upgrades placing it ‘at the forefront of local government innovation’.
Recognition and awards
Derby City Council’s AI transformation has been recognised nationally, reflecting both the scale of delivery and the strength of partnership working:
These accolades recognise Derby’s move beyond pilots to deliver measurable outcomes, strong governance and responsible AI adoption at scale.
What’s next
Derby’s journey continues, with future phases focused on agentic AI – enabling secure, end‑to‑end task completion within defined financial and safeguarding guardrails – and further expansion across council services.
This is innovation as sustained culture change.
Leadership Perspectives
Andy Brammall, Director of Digital & Physical Infrastructure and Customer Engagement, has highlighted how automating routine enquiries frees colleagues to focus on complex cases requiring human judgement and empathy, while ensuring residents can still access human support.
Paul Simpson, Chief Executive, has been clear that Derby’s approach was not about experimenting with technology, but about protecting services, supporting the workforce and building a sustainable model under financial pressure.
“This government has shown real leadership in AI in the public sector, creating an opportunity for the UK to lead the world in responsible AI adoption.” Martin Neale, Chief Executive Officer, ICS.AI
Learn more: Derby City Council AI Transformation Showcase
To explore Derby City Council’s AI journey in more depth, download the Derby City Council AI Transformation Showcase webinar.
The session features senior leaders from Derby City Council and ICS.AI discussing:
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Why Derby moved to a unified, organisation-wide AI operating model
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How outcomes and savings were identified and governed
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Lessons learned from scaling AI across resident services, staff productivity and high-impact service areas
Replicating Derby’s blueprint at your council
ICS.AI works with councils to replicate this proven, outcome-led blueprint, combining strategy, delivery methodology and a unified AI platform to support organisation-wide transformation.
If your council is exploring how to improve resident access, release staff capacity and deliver measurable financial outcomes through AI, we’d welcome a conversation.