ICS.AI launches SMART platform to save councils GBP £5 million

ICS.AI has introduced SMART: Staff Copilot, an AI platform designed to improve productivity and reduce administrative costs for council staff across the UK.

SMART: Staff Copilot is positioned to deliver projected savings of GBP £5 million for mid-sized local authorities. According to ICS.AI, the platform cuts purchase costs by 50% and operating expenses by 30% compared to the procurement and management of multiple standalone AI tools.

The platform brings together AI functionalities into a single system for the whole council workforce, addressing challenges posed by disparate AI tools and aiming to alleviate cost, complexity, and security risks. It has been designed with compliance and security in mind, ensuring it aligns with established council frameworks and evolves alongside AI advancements.

SMART: Staff Copilot consists of two primary features. The first, SMART: GPT, is a secure generative AI tool tailored for council use, accessible through a familiar chat interface. This component makes use of over 1,800 pre-built, role-specific prompts, supporting functions such as drafting resident communications, summarising documents, and facilitating rapid information retrieval. The second feature, SMART: Notes, provides intelligent voice documentation, offering real-time voice recording, transcription, and automated document generation, with a particular focus on support for front line teams such as Social Care.

ICS.AI states that SMART: Notes frees up staff from administrative tasks, allowing them to devote more attention to resident engagement and higher-value responsibilities. The company points to service improvements where staff can communicate more meaningfully with residents when they are not occupied with manual note-taking and documentation.

The company outlines several potential benefits for local government through the use of the platform, including a 40% reduction in administrative time, documentation completion times 80% faster than previous methods, and an anticipated saving of one full working day per week for each employee. The system delivers 98% accuracy in conversation recording and transcription, which ICS.AI notes supports the generation of reliable and compliant records.

Councils using the platform have access to document templates aligned with council policies, removing the need for manual formatting and enabling the production of compliant paperwork directly within the system. The architecture of SMART: Staff Copilot is described as vendor-agnostic, enabling easy integration with other IT systems and supporting streamlined procurement, training, and governance processes.

Feedback from early adopters has highlighted the potential impact on council workflows and service quality. Andy Brammall, Director of Digital & Physical Infrastructure & Customer Engagement at Derby City Council, said: "The combination of secure Generative AI capabilities and SMART: Notes is exciting for our social care and SEND professionals, who see tremendous potential in how it can reduce administrative burden while improving documentation quality. The platform's ability to safely analyse documents, automate engagement with internal services, and enhance productivity across departments, all while maintaining the highest security standards, aligns perfectly with our digital transformation strategy."

Matthew Wallbridge, Chief Operating Officer at Hillingdon Council, remarked: "SMART: Staff Copilot represents an exciting opportunity to enhance staff productivity. We're particularly interested in how its SMART: Notes capabilities could help streamline Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) and care assessment documentation. This combination of advanced note-taking and secure AI assistance could be transformative for our teams."

ICS.AI emphasises that the platform provides benefits across a range of council departments. Planning officers can more efficiently prepare reports, revenue and benefits staff can manage complex applications and shifting regulations, and corporate services teams are supported in administration, reporting, and budgeting. SEND assessment officers are given resources to coordinate Education, Health, and Care Plans more effectively.

Martin Neale, Chief Executive Officer and founder of ICS.AI, said: "Local government teams face unprecedented pressure, and AI offers a powerful way to improve service delivery and efficiency. With SMART: Staff Copilot, we're providing more than a productivity tool; we're delivering a secure, future-proof foundation for councils to thrive in the AI era while realising compelling economic benefits. The platform's vendor-agnostic approach future-proofs council investments by avoiding lock-in to any single AI provider, while our cost-optimised architecture ensures maximum value."

The new platform is designed to operate within existing council security frameworks, ensuring that sensitive resident data remains protected within secure environments and that councils maintain full compliance with GDPR and local government regulations.