OECD maps AI and citizen participation

The OECD has published a report examining how AI could support citizen participation and democratic innovation while highlighting the safeguards needed for its responsible use.

The report, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Citizen Participation, was approved and declassified by the OECD Public Governance Committee on 22 June 2026. It was produced as part of the OECD Public Governance Reviews series in collaboration with the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

The report says public participation can help governments design better policies and strengthen trust. It cites OECD trust findings showing that people who feel they have a say in government decisions are far more likely to report high trust in government.

The OECD notes that governments have long relied on digital technologies, including online platforms and civic tech tools, to expand public participation. AI represents the next stage of this evolution, with governments increasingly experimenting with tools for consultation, deliberation, communication and policy analysis.

The report is based on desk research and analysis of 50 AI use cases in participation processes from 22 OECD member and partner countries. It proposes a typology to help public officials and practitioners understand where AI tools may be useful and what challenges they may address.

Based on an analysis of 50 AI use cases from 22 OECD member and partner countries, the report proposes a typology covering nine categories of AI applications, including information development, sense-making, translation, transcription, virtual assistance, moderation, facilitation, simulation and participation architecture.

These tools can support both front-office activities, where citizens interact directly with government, and back-office activities, where public administrations design, analyse and manage processes internally.

According to the OECD, AI could make participation processes more accessible and efficient by helping governments analyse large volumes of public input, improve communication, reduce administrative costs and broaden participation.

Sense-making tools can help analyse large amounts of text submitted during consultations. Translation and transcription tools can make processes more accessible across languages and formats, while virtual assistants can help people navigate information about citizen participation opportunities.

AI can also support moderation and facilitation. The report says such tools may help prevent spam, hate speech or manipulation in online discussions, and could support live deliberation by identifying common ground or structuring debate.

However, the OECD cautions against treating AI as a simple fix for democratic challenges. It says technology alone cannot solve problems such as weak links between participation processes and actual policy decisions.

The report also highlights ethical, operational and societal risks, including algorithmic bias, opaque decision-making, hallucinations, cybersecurity threats, digital exclusion and declining public trust if AI systems are poorly designed or deployed.

The OECD also highlights the risks of inaction, noting that governments may miss valuable opportunities if they avoid AI tools even when they could be applied responsibly.

The report says governments should establish guardrails for AI use in citizen participation, including transparency, compliance with democratic values, protection of civic space, attention to data divides and low-tech alternatives for citizens with limited digital access.

It also calls for stronger enablers, including AI literacy, skills development, citizen engagement in the design and governance of AI systems, open standards where appropriate, and support for scaling successful pilots.

The OECD concludes that most public-sector use of AI in citizen participation remains experimental. It argues that lasting benefits will depend on transparent governance, human oversight and continued efforts to strengthen democratic participation beyond technology alone.

Why does it matter?

Governments are increasingly exploring AI as a way to make public participation more accessible, scalable and responsive. The OECD’s report shows that AI can support consultation, deliberation and policy analysis, but only when accompanied by safeguards that protect transparency, inclusion and democratic accountability.

The report also reinforces a broader shift in AI governance from technical capability to institutional design. By emphasising human oversight, civic participation, digital inclusion and democratic values, the OECD argues that AI should enhance, not replace, the processes that underpin public trust and democratic decision-making.

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