Why is Massachusetts introducing an AI assistant for state employees?
Massachusetts is continuing to lead in responsible AI innovation by introducing a secure, state-procured AI assistant to allow employees to focus on the work that matters most—serving the people of Massachusetts.
How was the AI Assistant selected?
The state followed a rigorous, transparent procurement process to select the AI Assistant platform. The goal was to identify a secure, enterprise-grade solution that could support more than 40,000 Executive Branch employees while aligning with our values of privacy, equity, and responsible innovation.
Here’s how the selection process worked:
1. Request for Quote (RFQ)
A formal RFQ was issued to invite vendors to propose solutions that met specific technical, security, and operational requirements, including:
- A secure, chat-based AI interface
- Integration with EntraID for single sign-on
- Configurable data retention and encryption
- Support for training, responsible use, and scalability
RFQ 26-04261 for AI Assistant and Implementation Partner
2. Evaluation Criteria
Proposals were evaluated based on:
- Security and privacy compliance
- Usability and accessibility
- Training and support plans
- Licensing flexibility (preference for enterprise/concurrent models)
- Commitment to long-term partnership and responsible AI practices
3. Selection and Partnership
The selected vendor demonstrated not only the right technology, but also a strong commitment to:
- Supporting the Commonwealth’s workforce
- Building trust in AI
- Helping Massachusetts lead in ethical, transparent, and effective AI adoption
The result is a solution that will empower employees, improve services for residents, and set a national example for how public institutions can use AI responsibly.
What is the AI assistant and how may it be used?
The AI assistant is a tool that can support employees in many ways, including:
- Draft first versions of reports or emails
- Summarize long documents or spreadsheets
- Outline meetings or presentations
- Provide quick research or background on a topic
- Translate content between languages
- Double-check for consistency or accuracy in documents
It’s designed to be a secure, conversational AI platform accessible through a chat interface, allowing employees to interact using natural language prompts without using state data to train public AI models.
What’s the rollout plan?
The AI Assistant will be rolled out to approximately 40,000 Executive Branch employees who have a Mass.gov (business) email address.
The rollout is designed to support thoughtful, responsible adoption and includes:
- Training and skill-building opportunities
- Ongoing impact assessment
- Development of agency-specific use cases
To ensure adequate support and readiness, licenses will be rolled out in waves by executive office. The schedule is tentative and may change based on agency readiness and capacity.
Are there any other generative AI tools currently allowed for use?
The intention of this AI Assistant procurement is to provide state employees with access to an AI model that is secure and will not use state data to train public AI models. At this time, using public models, such as public versions of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, are prohibited on state-issued devices. Likewise, providing non-public Commonwealth data to these platforms is prohibited. State employees should only use the ChatGPT workspace provided to them by the state for work.
Is this only available for the Executive Branch?
At this time, employees in an executive office or executive branch agency with a Mass.gov business email will be eligible for a license.