Mayor Wilson pumps the breaks on Seattle AI chatbot adoption
Mayor Wilson pumps the breaks on Seattle AI chatbot adoption
https://www.knkx.org/government/2026-03-19/mayor-katie-wilson-seattle-ai-chatbot-adoption
Publish Date: 2026-03-19 17:00:00
Source Domain: www.knkx.org
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is straying from her predecessor’s artificial intelligence ambitions and pausing the citywide rollout of Microsoft’s AI Copilot chatbot for city employees.
Former Mayor Bruce Harrell was bullish on AI. Last year, he announced an ambitious new AI plan to implement the technology in a variety of city services and spoke of making Seattle a “national leader in responsible artificial intelligence implementation.”
Part of the plan involved testing Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot with a group of 500 city employees.
The feedback was positive: A survey of 185 users found that Copilot demonstrated “significant business value and strong potential to boost productivity and streamline workflows.” Staff reported saving an average of two and a half hours each week because of the chatbot. The tool was especially useful for drafting and editing documents, summarizing meeting notes and “accelerating research,” the city’s IT department found.
The Harrell administration planned to make Copilot available to staff across the city starting in late February this year.
Instead, Wilson, who took office as mayor in January, is pumping the breaks.
“The Wilson administration took the opportunity to pause Copilot efforts started under the previous administration to ensure the AI direction reflected their priorities in a thoughtful and responsible manner,” said Megan Erb, a spokesperson for the city’s IT department.
The phased approach ensures the city “responsibly tests and adopts artificial intelligence tools, meets all privacy and security requirements, and deploys solutions that provide clear benefits to employees while upholding the City’s Responsible AI commitments,” Erb said.
The group of 500 employees who had been testing Copilot can continue to use it while citywide rollout is paused, Erb said.
Like most local governments, Seattle is a Microsoft 365 client, which means Copilot is included at no…
