Canada's new public AI registry: what it means for government customer support
The federal government has launched a public registry to give Canadians a clear view of how artificial intelligence is being explored and used across departments. It lists more than 400 areas where AI is in research, development, implementation or deployment, covering both internal operations and service delivery.
The goal is straightforward: improve planning, reduce duplication and help teams spot opportunities to work more efficiently. For customer support leaders inside government, this is a practical map of what already exists and where to plug in.
What the registry includes
- Purpose and description of each AI system
- Intended or current use in programs and operations
- Whether the solution is built in-house or by a vendor
Public consultations are planned for 2026 to refine the registry's design and usability. Expect changes based on practitioner and public feedback.
Why this matters for service and support teams
- Reduce duplication: Before building a chatbot, triage tool or summarization pipeline, check if a comparable solution already exists in another department.
- Faster procurement: If a proven vendor tool is in use elsewhere, you have a starting point for requirements, risk assessments and contracts.
- Better collaboration: Find peers solving similar problems (call deflection, case routing, translation). Swap playbooks, benchmarks and failure modes.
- Clearer accountability: Knowing who owns a system helps with escalations, model updates and policy compliance.
Policy context you should keep in view
- The Government of Canada's Directive on Automated Decision-Making sets requirements for impact assessments, testing and transparency.
- Many projects will require an Algorithmic Impact Assessment (AIA), privacy review and accessibility checks (e.g., bilingual support, WCAG).
Practical uses you can pursue (and evaluate) now
- Contact centre triage: Classify intents, route tickets and auto-suggest knowledge articles to agents.
- Agent assist: Summarize calls, draft responses, generate case notes and highlight policy citations.
- Knowledge management: Keep articles consistent, bilingual and up to date with automated quality checks.
- Accessibility and inclusion: Translation, transcription and plain-language support for citizens.
How to use the registry to your advantage
- Search for systems similar to your use case. Note the department, owner and vendor status.
- Request a short briefing from the owning team: scope, outcomes, costs, risks, lessons learned.
- Borrow what works: business requirements, evaluation metrics, prompts, change management plans.
- Avoid what didn't: data pitfalls, privacy gaps, latency issues, model drift and governance friction.
Questions to ask before piloting
- What problem and metric are we improving? (AHT, FCR, CSAT, deflection, backlog)
- What data is used, where is it stored and who can access it?
- What is the human review step for sensitive decisions and public-facing content?
- How will we monitor accuracy, bias, accessibility and bilingual quality over time?
- Is there an existing approved vendor or internal tool we can extend instead of starting new?
Governance and safeguards
- Run the AIA early; it will surface risk levels and required controls.
- Limit training and prompts to non-sensitive data where possible; use redaction for PII.
- Keep a clear audit trail: datasets, prompts, model versions and human approvals.
- Publish plain-language explanations for public-facing systems, including known limits and contact points.
What's next
Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned on using AI to make the public service more efficient, and departments outlined plans in the last federal budget to improve service delivery. The registry puts structure behind those commitments so teams can move faster with fewer blind spots.
Use it to find partners, reuse proven tools and set higher standards for reliability and transparency. Start small, measure clearly, and scale what works.
Helpful resources
- Directive on Automated Decision-Making (TBS)
- Algorithmic Impact Assessment (Government of Canada)
- Complete AI Training: courses by job
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