TechnologyOne has announced a groundbreaking AI platform that puts council services at residents' fingertips, making it easier than ever to request services, report issues, and access support without navigating multiple websites or forms.
For decades, our enterprise software has powered back-office systems across finance, HR, asset management, payroll and regulatory services. Now, with Guide, we are bringing artificial intelligence directly to the public-facing side of council services.
Guide is a new AI-powered product designed to serve as the public front door to council services. Built on our enterprise AI platform, Plus, Guide extends agentic AI beyond the back office and into the community, giving residents a single conversational way to request services, report issues and complete tasks. While Plus was introduced to streamline internal operations and automate routine workflows, Guide applies that same trusted intelligence to the public experience, transforming how communities interact with local government and how councils deliver services.
Instead of navigating multiple webpages, portals or paper forms, residents can simply ask for what they need using voice or text. Guide understands intent, connects securely to core council systems and completes actions in real time. Booking a bulky waste collection, reporting a pothole with a photo, applying for a permit or checking a council tax balance can all be managed within one seamless interaction. The experience is simple for residents, but deeply integrated behind the scenes.
In more complex scenarios, Guide can proactively surface support, such as highlighting hardship assistance where patterns of missed payments emerge. This enables councils to shift from reactive service delivery towards earlier intervention. This enables councils to move from reactive service delivery to earlier, preventative intervention, improving outcomes while managing demand.
Guide is not merely another interface layered onto existing systems. It represents a new service paradigm: intelligent, conversational and outcome-driven.
At a time of rising demand and financial constraint, reducing friction in routine interactions can free frontline teams to focus where professional judgement matters most. With both subscription and advertising-funded commercial models available, Guide represents not only a technological shift, but a sustainable and responsible approach to funding digital innovation in local government.
To learn more about Guide, visit our website.
Stuart MacDonald is Chief Operating Officer at TechnologyOne
