Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s a practical tool that can help councils save time, improve communication, and strengthen decision-making.

In this session, Becky Walsh from CouncilCulture.uk will introduce how AI can become your new assistant. You’ll discover:

• What a GPT is: A Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) is a form of AI that understands and generates human-like text. It can answer questions, draft documents, summarise reports, and even provide insights from your own council’s data.

• Making GPTs for councils: How custom GPTs can be built to search your minutes, policies, and documents – giving officers and councillors quick, accurate access to the information they need.

• Behind the scenes of ChatGPT: An overview of the often-overlooked programming and personalisation options that allow you to shape how AI responds, ensuring it works for your specific context.

• A quick look at Google Notebook LM: A new tool designed for working with your own documents, audio files, and video, offering another way to streamline council research and communications. It can create an audio podcast from your minutes! Sadly, only in a US dialect at this stage!

By the end of the session, you’ll see how AI can take on repetitive tasks, free up officer time, and support councillors in making well-informed decisions. This is not about replacing people – it’s about empowering councils with smart digital assistance.