What happened
Kashima City officially launched an AI chatbot on its website in April 2026 to answer citizen inquiries. The pilot ran from December 18, 2025 to February 28, 2026, and used Anthropic's Claude Sonnet.
Why it matters
With a shrinking population and fewer workers, the city needs to maintain services. The chatbot could save about 590 hours of work per year, freeing staff for more complex tasks, according to the city.
What to watch
The city will continue testing in full operation and plans to expand the AI's use. It also used Claude Code for in-house development, aiming to build internal skills.
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Kashima City, facing population decline and a shrinking workforce, is turning to generative AI to maintain public services. The city established a DX promotion division in 2023 and has used tools like RPA and no-code platforms. The AI chatbot, built with Claude Sonnet and Voiceflow, uses RAG to pull information from the city's website. The pilot results were positive, with 83% of users finding it useful. The city projects that scaling the pilot's usage could save about 590 hours of work annually, allowing staff to focus on tasks that require human judgment. The city also used Claude Code for internal development, aiming to build in-house capabilities for future AI applications.
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