Renfrewshire Council picks ICS.AI for three-year AI overhaul

Renfrewshire Council has named ICS.AI as its strategic AI transformation partner in a more than £5 million, three-year programme aimed at easing cost pressures and improving services. The rollout will expand the council’s existing AI phone assistant and add staff and resident tools across multiple service areas.

Why it matters: - Renfrewshire Council is using AI to tackle rising demand and costs while trying to protect service quality for residents. - The programme is designed to give staff more capacity and support a more sustainable operating model across the council. - The contract is worth more than £5 million over its initial three-year term.

What happened: - Renfrewshire Council selected ICS.AI as its strategic AI transformation partner after a competitive procurement process. - The council has already worked with ICS.AI to create Millie, its award-winning AI phone assistant, which launched in November 2024. - The programme is set to run over three years and will be introduced in phases. - Phase one runs from November 2026 to March 2028.

The details: - The council says the appointment followed what is believed to be the most extensive AI transformation assessment by a Scottish local authority. - More than 100 potential suppliers were considered at the start of procurement, before the field narrowed to 14 at the next stage. - Working across 25 service areas, more than 100 council staff took part in 32 workshops. - Those workshops identified 194 potential AI use cases. - The first phase will upgrade Millie with generative AI capabilities. - Renfrewshire Council will also develop a new web-based Citizen Copilot for residents. - An AI Staff Copilot will be rolled out to eligible employees for help with everyday work, council information, meetings and case notes. - AI agents will support three high-volume areas: service inboxes, Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests, and complaints handling. - Staff will retain oversight, with AI supporting rather than replacing human decision-making. - The programme will introduce proven, lower-risk AI solutions first, then move to more service-specific tools, then broader transformational change. - The council will use a formal governance framework with staff training, human oversight, data protection controls, trade union engagement and regular transparency reporting. - Millie has already handled hundreds of thousands of calls since November 2024. - Millie won the Leading Innovation Award at the COSLA Excellence Awards 2025 and the Digital Public Services Award at the Scottish Public Service Awards 2025.

Between the lines: - Renfrewshire is betting on AI as an operating model change, not just a point solution. - The scale of the assessment suggests the council wanted to reduce delivery risk before committing to a wider rollout. - ICS.AI’s existing footprint in Scottish local government appears to have strengthened its position in the procurement. - The emphasis on oversight, transparency and staff engagement signals sensitivity to public-sector concerns about automation.

What's next: - The council will begin phase one in November 2026. - Early deployment will focus on lower-risk use cases meant to deliver benefits and build confidence. - Phase two will add more service-specific tools. - Phase three will extend AI-led change across wider council services. - ICS.AI is also expanding its presence in Scotland and is building a dedicated team there.

The bottom line: - Renfrewshire Council is turning an existing AI pilot into a broader, multi-year transformation programme aimed at saving money, easing pressure on staff and improving access to services.