Georgia gave cities an AI playbook. Here's how to finish the first 90 days.
Georgia's new Local Government AI Playbook tells cities and counties to build governance before they buy AI. We turned its first 90 days into a free builder on AI Ready Georgia, with tools for every step.
Most cities and counties are already using AI. Some of it came built into software they own. Some of it arrived when an employee opened a chatbot on a personal account. What most of them don't have yet is a plan.
On November 12, 2026, the Georgia Technology Authority's Office of Artificial Intelligence released its Local Government AI Playbook to fix that. It's written for local governments starting from scratch, including those with no AI staff, and its core advice is one every organization should hear: put governance in place before you buy.
What the playbook asks for
The playbook rests on four foundations: establish AI governance, evaluate and implement AI projects, support workforce productivity and build an AI-ready workforce. A few of its rules stand out:
- Don't buy AI because a vendor is selling it or a neighbor is using it. Start from the problem, and check whether a better form or process would do.
- Find out what employees already use, including AI built into existing tools.
- Match review to risk. Uses that touch public safety, rights, benefits or service access are high risk, and AI never makes those decisions alone.
- Tell residents when they are dealing with AI, and give them a way to reach a person.
The first 90 days
The playbook suggests phases rather than hard deadlines:
Days 0 to 30: set the foundation. Name an AI leader and coordinator, form a review committee, issue interim guidance to employees and start an AI inventory.
Days 30 to 60: make it repeatable. Set up a use case review process, assign risk levels, set vendor requirements and give staff basic training.
Days 60 to 90: pilot and be transparent. Launch a small number of pilots, publish an AI webpage and register for residents, and set up incident response.
We built a free builder for it
Plans are easy to read and hard to finish. So we built a free 90-day builder into AI Ready Georgia: aireadygeorgia.org/local-government.
It turns each step into a checklist item and links it to a tool that does the work:
- ETA Steward for the AI inventory and shadow AI finder, an AI use policy with staff sign-off, vendor AI risk reviews, an incident log and a public AI trust page.
- ETA Flightplan for scoping use cases from the problem up and planning pilots.
- AI Ready Georgia for free staff training, with AI Explorer, AI Empowered Professional and AI Empowered Leader certificates.
Cities and agencies can also request setup help or book a 30-minute briefing for their council or leadership team.
Not in Georgia?
The playbook's approach works for any organization without an AI team: policy, inventory, risk-based review, training, then pilots. The same tools are in the ETA Marketplace, and the AI Ready Launch Kit brings an AI Ready program to your state, county or city.
AI Ready Georgia and ETA are not affiliated with the Georgia Technology Authority. Our builder is an independent companion to the state's playbook. This is general information, not legal advice.
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