What is the AI Assistant and how will it affect me as a resident?
The AI Assistant is a secure tool used by state employees to help them work more efficiently. It may help staff respond to your questions faster, process documents more quickly, or provide clearer information—but it does not replace human service or decision-making.
Is my personal information being used to train AI?
No. The state’s AI Assistant operates in a secure, walled-off environment. It does not use resident data to train public AI models, and it follows strict privacy and data protection standards.
Will I be talking to a robot when I contact a state agency?
No. The AI Assistant is a back-end tool used by employees to support their work. You will still interact with real people when you call, email, or visit a state agency.
In some cases, you may also interact with the state’s new Virtual Assistant, created by TSS to replace the AskMA chatbot. This Virtual Assistant is designed to help answer common questions quickly and guide people to the right information or services—but it does not replace human support. When you need help from a person, agency staff are always available.
How is the state making sure AI is used responsibly?
Massachusetts is committed to responsible, transparent, and equitable AI use. The AI Assistant is being rolled out with strong privacy and security protections, employee training, and oversight to ensure it supports—not replaces—public service. Separate workspaces are built for agencies that work with highly regulated data, such as health and human services agencies.
Will AI make decisions about my benefits, applications, or services?
No. The AI Assistant is not being used to make decisions about eligibility or services. It may help staff process information more efficiently, but decisions are always made by trained professionals.
How does this benefit the public?
By helping employees work more efficiently, the AI Assistant can:
- Reduce wait times
- Improve the clarity of information you receive
- Help agencies respond more accurately to your needs
- Help agencies better understand and address your specific needs.
Can I opt out of having my information processed by AI?
Since the AI Assistant is used internally by staff and not for automated decision-making, there is no direct opt-in or opt-out for residents. However, all data handling follows existing privacy laws and protections.
Will AI be used to make decisions about me without a person involved?
No. Just as the Internet is used to connect employees to information faster, the AI Assistant is a support tool for employees, not a decision-maker. All decisions about services, benefits, or eligibility will continue to be made by trained professionals.
How can I be sure AI is being used fairly and ethically?
The state is committed to responsible AI use guided by transparency, equity, and accountability. AI use is being rolled out with clear policies, oversight, and training to ensure it supports—not undermines—fair public service.
What laws or policies govern how the state uses AI?
AI use in Massachusetts is guided by state and federal privacy laws, which emphasize ethical, secure, and equitable use of emerging technologies. All state employees are also required to abide by state policies and regulations, such as the Enterprise Use and Development of Generative AI Policy and the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Policy.
Will AI be used in all state agencies?
The AI Assistant will be available to all Executive Branch employees, and each agency will determine how best to use it based on their mission, services, and staff needs.
How will this improve my experience as a resident?
You may notice:
- Faster response times
- Clearer communication
- More consistent service delivery
- Easier access to information
All of this is made possible by giving staff better tools to do their jobs.