Report by Twilio: “…shows a stark perception gap in the public sector: while 88% of government organizations rate their citizen engagement as good or excellent, only 44% of citizens agree. The Connected Government Report (2026) shows that while public sector agencies are confident in their digital services, citizens report fewer tangible benefits from digital interactions than in previous years. The research explores critical priorities for public sector digital engagement as agencies transition from basic digitization to connected, meaningful communication.
The findings come as AI adoption in government continues to rapidly accelerate. The data shows 97% of public sector organizations have implemented at least one AI use case, and the average number of use cases has increased 50% since 2024. Additionally, while AI is expanding rapidly, few trust it, creating a critical confidence gap as agencies scale intelligent automation.
As part of the research, Twilio categorized public sector organizations into three maturity levels based on their level of conversational digital engagement, personalization, use of citizen data, and cross-department data sharing. These were broken down into three levels: beginners (22% of respondents), developing (50%), and leaders (28%). Digital leaders communicate in ways that are coordinated, personalized, and two-way, sharing data across departments and agencies. These leaders are also significantly more likely to use AI operationally to meet citizen needs…(More)”.
