The Complete Guide to Using AI in the Government Industry in Charlotte in 2025

Charlotte's public leaders face a 2025 reality: generative AI can sharply reduce back‑office burden and improve constituent services, but only with local safeguards - North Carolina health systems have been early adopters of ambient documentation, diagnostic, and workflow tools and state leaders are already calling for oversight (North Carolina state leaders call for AI oversight in health care), while national analyses expect gen AI to shift from pilots to wide government use this year to automate workflows and elevate the constituent experience (Generative AI in government 2025: analysis and expectations).

The practical takeaway for Charlotte agencies: pair selective pilots that demonstrate impact (Duke's Sepsis Watch reported a 31% mortality reduction) with staff training and clear procurement rules - start by upskilling teams with targeted programs like Nucamp's AI Essentials for Work syllabus - build practical AI skills for the workplace to build prompt‑writing, governance, and operational skills quickly.

Program	Details
AI Essentials for Work	15 weeks; early bird $3,582; syllabus: AI Essentials for Work syllabus (Nucamp); registration: Register for AI Essentials for Work (Nucamp)

“Not only do I truly believe that AI can really improve health care and health, I also believe we need AI to improve health care and improve health.” - Christina Silcox, Duke‑Margolis Institute for Health Policy

Understanding AI for Charlotte public leaders starts with a clear, operational definition: publicly available generative AI are tools anyone can use, but their ease of access masks real legal and security hazards - inputs can become part of a model's training data and may be subject to public records requests - so never submit PII, health or personnel data to public tools and always register state work accounts with state email.

Institute simple technical and governance controls: require independent fact‑checking of AI outputs, disable chat history for high‑risk tasks, run security assessments (use the NIST AI Risk Management Framework), and document agency use and annual reassessments to preserve accountability.

Use regional templates and policy language to speed adoption while managing risk (Centralina generative AI policy guidance for local governments: Centralina generative AI policy guidance for local governments) and follow North Carolina's operational rules for publicly available generative AI for concrete dos and don'ts - examples include prohibited PII uploads, use of state accounts, and disclosure/citation requirements (NCDIT guidance on publicly available generative AI: NCDIT guidance on publicly available generative AI).

The practical takeaway: pair short, well‑scoped pilots with mandatory staff training and a documented approval path so measurable wins (reduced backlog, faster constituent responses) do not come at the cost of privacy or legal exposure.

Action	Why it matters
Never enter PII into public generative AI	Prevents data leakage and public records exposure
Use state email/accounts for agency work	Ensures retention, oversight, and compliance
Document use and perform annual risk assessments (NIST AI RMF)	Maintains accountability and updates approvals
Fact‑check and human‑review all outputs	Reduces hallucinations, legal and reputational risk

“The rapid evolution of GenAI presents tremendous opportunities for public sector organizations. DHS is at the forefront of federal efforts to responsibly harness the potential of AI technology... Safely harnessing the potential of GenAI requires collaboration across government, industry, academia, and civil society.”

Federal activity in 2025 emphasizes standards, risk management, and nondiscrimination - think NIST's AI Risk Management Framework and playbooks, GAO's generative‑AI deployment guidance, the Bipartisan House Task Force review, HHS guidance on preventing discrimination, and the U.S. Copyright Office's AI report - all referenced and collected by state IT leaders so local agencies aren't building policy from scratch; North Carolina's N.C. Department of Information Technology curates these materials (including an “AI Governance in Practice Report 2024” infographic, NIST profiles, bias‑management guidance, and a long list of foundation‑model acceptable‑use policies) as a practical toolkit for agencies, while the N.C. Department of Public Instruction supplies PK‑13 generative AI recommendations and on‑demand webinars to align schools with state expectations.

The so‑what: Charlotte leaders can accelerate safe adoption by using NCDIT's curated checklist and NIST RMF playbooks to vet vendors, codify rules (for example, prohibiting PII uploads and requiring state accounts), and document use cases, and by tapping NCDPI training to lower operational risk in educational deployments; start with the state's consolidated resources to turn federal guidance into local policy and procurement guardrails.

Read the NCDIT Other AI Resources collection and NC DPI AI Resources for PK‑13 schools and webinars.

Resource	Why it matters
NCDIT - Other AI Resources (North Carolina Department of Information Technology)	Curated federal frameworks, governance infographic, and operational guidance for state/local agencies
NC DPI - AI Resources for PK‑13 Schools (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction)	PK‑13 generative AI recommendations, webinars, and educator training to align school implementations

For more information, consult the state resources linked above.

Start with a tightly scoped, time‑boxed pilot that proves value and limits risk: inventory candidate workflows (constituent intake, unclaimed property screening, FOIA triage), set clear success metrics, and run a 6–12 week pilot that mirrors North Carolina's 12‑week Treasurer/OpenAI project to surface measurable efficiency gains before wider rollout; pair that pilot with the state's operational playbook - use the NCDIT Responsible Use of AI framework and guidance for artificial intelligence and the practical rules in the NCDIT “Use of Publicly Available Generative AI” guidance (never upload PII, use state accounts, disable chat history for high‑risk tasks, and disclose AI use) - then lock procurement and vendor checks into the process via the North Carolina Statewide IT Procurement Office resources and OneForm procurement guidance (OneForm, statewide contracts, and vendor readiness templates) so contracts and security reviews happen before paid pilots.

Require mandatory staff training, NIST AI RMF‑based risk assessments, documented review/acceptance criteria, and an annual reassessment cadence; the payoff: a single, disciplined pilot can deliver a repeatable playbook and measurable time savings without exposing sensitive data, making expansion a governance‑driven choice rather than a compliance gamble.

Step	Resource / Why
Design time‑boxed pilot (6–12 weeks)	Replicate measurable goals from NC Treasurer/OpenAI pilot to prove ROI
Apply NCDIT AI framework & guidance	Operational rules, privacy limits, and training requirements
Use Statewide IT Procurement	Vendor vetting, OneForm, and contract templates for compliant buys
Mandate NIST RMF assessments & human review	Reduce hallucination, legal and security risk; enable annual reassessment

“Innovation, particularly around data and technology, will allow our department to deliver better results for North Carolina. I am grateful to our friends at OpenAI for partnering with us on this new endeavor, and I am excited to explore the possibilities ahead.” - Brad Briner

Concrete, near‑term AI wins for Charlotte government fall into three practical buckets: operational automation (chatbots and voice bots for intake and 311), safety and situational awareness (license‑plate readers and sensor analytics), and clinical and infrastructure efficiency (medical imaging triage and pipeline monitoring).

Deploy small, measurable pilots that mirror local examples: Bojangles' voice bot Bo‑Linda reduced front‑line strain by an estimated 4–5 hours of employee labor per location per day, showing how conversational AI can stabilize service levels during staffing shortages; Novant Health's Viz.ai imaging platform has shaved up to 20 minutes off stroke diagnosis and treatment time, a clear patient‑outcome and cost payoff; and Northlake Mall's AI‑enabled license‑plate readers - tied to CMPD - illustrate how targeted sensor deployments aid public safety while requiring strict data governance.

Tie these use cases to the City's Smart Charlotte agenda and I&T governance so pilots include digital‑equity considerations and repeatable procurement steps (City of Charlotte Innovation and Technology - Smart Charlotte initiative), learn from local reporting on sector deployments (In-depth Charlotte Magazine coverage of AI deployments in Charlotte), and model vendor pilots on recent state projects like the NC Treasurer's OpenAI trial to document measurable efficiency gains before scale (WBTV report on the NC Treasurer OpenAI pilot program).

“We refer to her as a person and consider her a member of the team.”

Data privacy, ethics, and risk management must be baked into every Charlotte AI project: follow the North Carolina State Government Responsible Use of AI Framework as the operational baseline, adopt the Fair Information Practice Principles across the AI lifecycle, and make privacy the default in architecture and procurement so sensitive records never become training fodder for public tools (North Carolina Responsible Use of AI Framework).

Practical controls include access gating and data‑quality checks, vendor due diligence and contract language for data handling, and using the Office of Privacy and Data Protection's AI/GenAI questionnaire during the Privacy Threshold Analysis to flag risks before pilots or buys; NCDIT is already building standard RFP language and vendor questionnaires to speed compliant procurement.

The payoff is clear: early, documented privacy review plus mandatory staff training prevents costly exposure or public‑records surprises and keeps constituent trust intact - backed by a new state AI governance lead to drive consistent policy across agencies (Privacy's Role in AI Governance).

“The public has to put a certain amount of trust in the government,” NCDIT Chief Privacy Officer Cherie Givens said.

Build local AI capacity by linking UNC Charlotte's teaching and research pipelines with hands‑on, public‑sector training: UNC Charlotte's 2025 AI Summit for Smarter Learning (May 14, 2025) drew nearly 300 attendees for workshops and lesson simulations that doubled prior turnout and produced classroom‑to‑career use cases, the Center for Teaching and Learning offers short faculty workshops plus a 10‑hour “Next‑Generation Learning with Generative AI Tools” microcredential to teach prompt engineering and ethics toolkits, and municipal staff can get immediate, task‑focused practice in OneIT's hands‑on “Using Generative AI in Your Daily Work” sessions (live Copilot and Gemini exercises); supplement those with free, self‑paced public‑sector courses from InnovateUS on responsible GenAI adoption and procurement to close policy and skills gaps quickly.

The so‑what: this stacked approach - summits for momentum, short certificates for skill, campus research from the Charlotte AI Institute, and free public‑sector modules - creates a fast, low‑risk pipeline Charlotte agencies can use to upskill cohorts, validate vendor pilots, and deliver measurable service gains without compromising privacy or governance (UNC Charlotte 2025 AI Summit for Smarter Learning details, OneIT “Using Generative AI in Your Daily Work” training details, InnovateUS Artificial Intelligence for the Public Sector workshop series).

Program	Format / Benefit
2025 AI Summit for Smarter Learning	Full‑day in‑person summit (May 14, 2025); nearly 300 attendees; hands‑on workshops and lightning talks
CTL Workshops & Microcredential	Short faculty workshops on Gen‑AI tools, ethics, prompt writing; 10‑hour professional microcredential
OneIT AI Training	In‑person/virtual hands‑on sessions for staff (Copilot, Google Gemini); practical daily‑work use cases
InnovateUS Public‑Sector Courses	Free, self‑paced courses on responsible GenAI use, procurement, and implementation for government

“The faculty and staff participating in the AI Summit displayed a commitment to thoughtful, responsible and ethical AI integration that supports teaching and learning in meaningful ways.” - Jennifer Troyer, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs

Charlotte agencies must treat AI purchases like any mission‑critical IT buy: start with the Statewide IT Procurement Office's templates and OneForm pathways to ensure vendors meet security, contract and Best Value standards, require NIST AI Risk Management Framework assessments and NCDIT's privacy‑aligned controls before any pilot, and insist contract clauses that prohibit uploading PII to public models and require audit logs, data‑handling commitments, and annual reassessments; doing so shortens procurement cycles and reduces legal exposure - NCDIT's office now targets a 90‑day IT procurement cadence while publishing vendor resources to speed compliant buys (NCDIT Statewide IT Procurement resources and OneForm pathways).

For use of public generative tools, adopt the concrete dos and don'ts in the NCDIT guidance - state accounts for agency work, disabled chat history for high‑risk tasks, independent fact‑checking of outputs, and documented agency approvals - to prevent data leakage and public‑records surprises (NCDIT guidance on using publicly available generative AI tools).

Finally, require vendors to complete standardized questionnaires and model‑transparency disclosures, document successful pilots for reusable RFP language, and learn from NCDIT's recent procurement innovation award that pairs automation with strict vetting to accelerate secure adoption (NCDIT procurement innovation award press release (Aug 2025)).

The so‑what: clear, contractual guardrails let Charlotte capture productivity gains from AI while keeping constituent data off public models and procurement defensible in audits.

Guardrail	Action
Risk Assessment	Mandatory NIST AI RMF assessment before procurement
Data Protections	Contract clause prohibiting PII uploads; state accounts required
Vendor Due Diligence	Standardized vendor questionnaires and model transparency
Procurement Timeline	Use OneForm/state contracts to target faster, auditable procurement (90‑day goal)

“We would never want to use [AI] to tell us who to award to, but even if we're using it for research, we want to make sure we document the research and not just the tool as the final order.”

Looking ahead, Charlotte's path to scaling useful, ethical AI is clear: adopt the state's operational baseline, watch the law, and use a dedicated governance lane to turn pilots into repeatable services - North Carolina's Responsible Use of AI Framework already supplies the concrete principles and controls local agencies need to keep sensitive records off public models and require human review (NCDIT Responsible Use of AI Framework: operational principles and controls for government AI), while the appointment of I‑Sah Hsieh as NCDIT's first artificial intelligence governance and policy executive (Apr 25, 2025) gives Charlotte a single statewide touchpoint for procurement templates, vendor questionnaires, and training partnerships that shorten procurement cycles and limit legal exposure (NCDIT press release announcing AI governance and policy leader).

At the same time, the 2025 state legislative wave - “38 states adopted or enacted around 100 measures” - means Charlotte must monitor shifting disclosure, disclosure and human‑review rules and bake compliance into contract language from day one (NCSL 2025 legislation summary for state AI laws).

The so‑what: with a state framework, a named governance lead, and an eye on legislation, Charlotte can safely scale pilots that cut processing times and improve constituent service without sacrificing privacy or auditability.

Near‑term Milestone	Why it matters
Adopt NCDIT Responsible Use Framework	Provides operational rules and privacy controls for agency AI projects
I‑Sah Hsieh, NCDIT AI governance lead (Apr 25, 2025)	Centralizes policy, vendor language, and statewide training coordination
Track 2025 state AI legislation	Ensures procurement and disclosure practices remain compliant as laws evolve

“The public has to put a certain amount of trust in the government.”

Charlotte leaders' next steps are concrete: adopt the N.C. Department of Information Technology's Responsible Use of AI as the operational baseline, start with a tightly scoped 6–12 week pilot that measures specific time or cost savings, and require staff training and NIST‑based risk assessments before any procurement - this sequence turns experimentation into auditable services that protect constituent data while delivering measurable efficiency gains.

Use the NCDIT framework to lock in privacy, human review, and procurement guardrails (NCDIT AI Framework for Responsible Use), and upskill cohorts with practical training so pilots aren't one‑off experiments (consider Nucamp's hands‑on AI Essentials for Work syllabus and registration to build prompt, governance, and operational skills; 15 weeks, early bird $3,582) Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus and registration.

The clear payoff: one disciplined pilot plus mandatory training makes expansion a governance‑driven decision, not a compliance gamble, preserving public trust while cutting back‑office burden and shortening procurement cycles.

Next Step	Resource
Adopt state AI framework	NCDIT AI Framework for Responsible Use
Run a 6–12 week pilot with NIST RMF assessment	Time‑boxed pilot + NIST risk assessment
Upskill staff for operational use	Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus and registration (15 weeks)

“The public has to put a certain amount of trust in the government.”