California Governor Newsom integrates GenAI to improve traffic, customer service, and government productivity statewide.
California is accelerating the use of GenAI in government operations through three new state-level projects. Governor Newsom’s initiative, supported by OpenAI, Anthropic, and MicrosoftMicrosoft, aims to cut inefficiencies and deliver faster public services. The projects span traffic management, road safety, and public agency support. These uses GenAI to interpret complex data, automate processes, and boost productivity.
Caltrans is using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI tools to analyze traffic data, predict congestion, and improve emergency response. The system processes real-time and historical inputs to identify bottlenecks and high-risk locations. This allows the agency to make faster decisions and improve travel reliability. In a second safety-focused initiative, Deloitte and Anthropic’s Gemini model help Caltrans detect dangerous roads and recommend changes using crash reports and equity data.
In customer service, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration now uses Anthropic’s Claude to streamline phone and chat inquiries. The AI assistant rapidly scans over 16,000 pages of tax guidance to help agents give faster, more accurate answers. Early results show reduced call handling time and less need for extra staff during peak tax periods.
To boost staff productivity, the state launched a digital assistant pilot and introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot in eight agencies. These tools help workers generate content, summarize data, and streamline reporting. As California expands its AI footprint, upcoming GenAI pilots will target housing and legislative processes. The state is also investing in AI training and education in partnership with NVIDIA to prepare the workforce for broader adoption.