The City of Seattle has released its 2025–2026 Artificial Intelligence Plan, outlining a roadmap to integrate AI across municipal services while committing to principles of equity, transparency, and public trust.
The plan moves the city beyond its 2024–2025 “learning phase” into targeted deployment of AI tools designed to accelerate permitting and housing, improve public safety, enhance customer responsiveness, and expand accessibility in plain language services . Officials say the effort positions Seattle as a leader among U.S. cities in responsible AI adoption.
“Seattle chooses not to treat AI as a black box handed to the community by vendors, driven by hype cycles,” the plan states. “Seattle chooses to use AI as a strategic lever for building the kind of community representing its values” .
Four Strategic Pillars
The plan rests on four pillars. Data Excellence focuses on citywide governance, quality, and security, aligning with the Mayor’s “One Seattle Data Strategy.” Infrastructure and Compliance emphasizes scalable cloud environments, cybersecurity frameworks like NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework, and updated legal protocols. Workforce Upskilling includes a three-tier training program for all city employees, ensuring they can apply AI responsibly while preparing for job shifts. Finally, Success Through Partnerships commits Seattle to collaboration with universities, nonprofits, industry, and residents, while mentoring local start-ups to ensure community benefit .
Execution Roadmap
Implementation will proceed in three phases. Phase 1, underway since 2024, tested pilots such as Microsoft CoPilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Phase 2 in 2025 focuses on high-impact “big bets,” including AI for public safety communications, permitting streamlining, and utilities efficiency. By 2026, Phase 3 will set long-term architecture and vendor decisions as pilots scale citywide .
Projects in the pipeline range from AI-assisted fraud detection and climate compliance tools to 911 translation services and animal adoption matching. Each is subject to Seattle’s “Proof of Value” framework, which requires pilots to meet strict criteria on bias audits, user satisfaction, scalability, and alignment with city priorities .
Supporting Workers and Residents
Recognizing public concern over job impacts, the plan stresses that AI will augment, not replace, workers. Training, reskilling, and union collaboration are central to the city’s workforce transition. “AI will not remove the need for City workers. Instead, it will shift the nature of work,” the document notes .
Seattle also promises transparency in public engagement, from educational campaigns to community feedback mechanisms. Officials plan outreach efforts to build AI literacy among residents while co-designing solutions with historically marginalized groups .
A Long-Term Vision
Ultimately, Seattle frames AI not as a cost-saving shortcut but as a tool to amplify staff capacity, strengthen digital accessibility, and improve service delivery. By 2026, leaders envision AI as a “capacity amplifier” embedded across city departments, governed through ethics, oversight, and continuous public dialogue.
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