Renfrewshire Council Named Finalist in National AI Awards for Customer Service Innovation
- 33 minutes ago
- 3 min read
We’re delighted to announce that Renfrewshire Council, in partnership with ICS.AI, has been named a finalist in the AI in Government and Public Sector category at this year’s National AI Awards – a well-deserved recognition of their pioneering work using artificial intelligence to transform customer services.
The National AI Awards celebrate organisations delivering real, measurable impact through AI – not just pilots or proof-of-concepts, but solutions operating at scale, improving outcomes for people and communities. Renfrewshire’s inclusion as a finalist reflects exactly that: AI in action, delivering tangible value for residents every day.
From innovation to real-world impact
Renfrewshire Council’s journey is a powerful example of how AI can be introduced safely, responsibly and with clear outcomes.
Starting with customer services – the “front door” for residents – the council deployed Millie, Scotland’s first AI-powered phone assistant to be deployed on a main customer service line in Scottish local government. Designed to work in natural, conversational language, Millie helps residents get answers quickly, understand next steps, and access services 24/7, while ensuring more complex or sensitive enquiries are seamlessly passed to human advisors.
This wasn’t a leap of faith. Renfrewshire took an evidence-led approach, beginning with a structured trial to build confidence, test real-world performance, and ensure the solution worked for both residents and staff before scaling.
The results speak for themselves:
Over 436,000 resident calls handled
753,000+ questions directly answered by AI
Around 40% of enquiries resolved without human intervention
Nearly 100,000 out-of-hours enquiries supported
£110,000 in financial savings delivered
This significantly exceeded the original business case expectation that only 5-10% of enquiries would be resolved by AI.
This is AI not as a concept, but operating at scale as a core part of day-to-day service delivery.
Tackling one of the biggest barriers to AI adoption: dialect and accessibility
One of the most significant challenges in deploying voice AI in public services is ensuring it works for everyone.
Across the UK – and particularly in Scotland – residents often question whether AI can truly understand regional accents and dialects. Renfrewshire made this a central focus from the outset.
Rather than expecting residents to adapt to technology, the council invested in training and refining the AI to understand real-world language, local phrases, and natural speech patterns. For example, phrases such as “concert tax” for council tax, or “cattypans” for caddy bins are correctly interpreted and routed to the right service, alongside conversational terms such as “aye” and “wee”.
The result is a service where residents can simply speak as they are – without needing to change how they talk.
Today, Millie achieves over 98% accuracy in speech recognition, even with strong regional dialects, demonstrating that inclusive AI is not only possible, but essential to building trust in public services.
Recognising leadership across the sector
Being named a finalist is a significant achievement in itself, particularly in a field as fast-moving and competitive as AI.
It also reflects the broader leadership shown by Renfrewshire Council – not just in adopting new technology, but in doing so responsibly, with a clear focus on accessibility, governance and measurable outcomes.
We’d also like to extend our congratulations to the other finalists. The strength of this year’s entries highlights the growing momentum across the public sector to adopt AI in ways that genuinely improve services and outcomes for residents.
What this means for the future
Perhaps the most important impact of this work is what it has enabled next.
The success of AI in customer services has shifted the conversation within Renfrewshire from “should we use AI?” to “where else can it help?” – creating the foundation for wider, council-wide transformation.
It shows that when AI is introduced in a structured, evidence-led way, it can build confidence, unlock innovation, and deliver lasting change.
Learn more: Watch the webinar
To hear directly from the Renfrewshire team about their journey – including how they approached implementation, tackled dialect challenges, and what the data shows at scale – you can watch the full webinar.
In the session, you’ll learn:
Why Renfrewshire chose to start with phone AI
How they built confidence through a structured trial
What residents actually experience in practice
The real performance data behind the headlines
Practical lessons for other councils starting their AI journey
As a finalist, Renfrewshire Council stands among some of the most forward-thinking organisations using AI to deliver real impact. This recognition also reflects the strength of the partnership between Renfrewshire Council and ICS.AI, working together to design and deliver AI that is practical, inclusive, and grounded in real-world outcomes.
We look forward to the final results being announced on 9th June and wish Renfrewshire - and all fellow finalists - the very best of luck.
