JapanPublic sector2023 – ongoingYokosuka City
City-wide ChatGPT in the staff chat tool
Yokosuka became the first Japanese city to give all staff ChatGPT, and about 80% of surveyed users reported faster work
Problem
Yokosuka, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, faces a shrinking population and fewer staff, and wanted to raise office productivity. Much staff time went to drafting, summarizing and proofreading documents.
Approach
In April 2023 the city linked the ChatGPT API to LoGo Chat, the business chat tool its staff already used, and opened it to about 3,800 employees for a one-month trial. Staff used it for drafting, summaries, typo checks, spreadsheet formulas and ideas, under a rule not to enter personal or confidential information. After the trial the city moved to full use and planned to add GPT-4 and an AI strategy adviser.
Results
Takeaway
Using its existing chat tool let a city with no AI team reach all staff within weeks. About half of staff used it, but about 30% of queries were searches that the city judged unsuitable for ChatGPT.
Categories
- Industry
- Public sector
- Business function
- Internal work and knowledge management
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AI
- Adoption
- Off-the-shelf tool or platform
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
Yokosuka announced a city-wide ChatGPT trial on 18 April 2023, described as the first among Japanese municipalities. ChatGPT's API was connected to LoGo Chat, a chat tool for local governments, so staff could use it for drafting, summaries, typo checks and ideas. Personal and confidential information was excluded.
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party reported that about 3,800 city employees were given access from April 2023, under a rule against entering confidential or personal data. About 80% of surveyed users said it improved efficiency and wanted to continue.
AIsmiley reported that about 80% of staff interviewed in the city's trial said work became more efficient and wanted to keep using the tool. The city reported time savings without a figure and planned to adopt GPT-4 and appoint an AI strategy adviser.
Mynavi News reported from an October 2023 event that about half of staff actually used ChatGPT and about 80% of survey respondents found it made work more efficient. It notes that about 30% of use was search-type queries, which the city considered unsuitable, that some answers were inappropriate, and that staff review every output before use.
Full details are in the original sources.
