Top 10 AI Prompts and Use Cases and in the Government Industry in Topeka

Introduction to AI in Topeka's Government: Kansas is deliberately turning curiosity about generative AI into practical, governed action - Governor Laura Kelly directed executive agencies to follow a statewide policy from the Office of Information Technology Services that lets teams experiment while protecting Kansans' data and privacy (Kansas AI statewide policy from the Office of Information Technology Services).

The approach pairs strict guardrails - human review of outputs, bans on sharing Restricted Use Information with tools, vendor disclosures and annotated AI-generated code - with support for public-sector innovation, from updating legacy systems to public-health roadmaps that train local health departments on prompting and safe deployment (Kansas Health Institute public health AI roadmap guidance).

For civic staff and vendors wanting practical skills, the AI Essentials for Work bootcamp teaches prompting and workplace AI workflows over 15 weeks (AI Essentials for Work bootcamp registration at Nucamp), turning policy into productive, well-governed practice.

Bootcamp	AI Essentials for Work
Length	15 Weeks
Focus	AI tools for work, prompt writing, practical business skills
Cost (early bird)	$3,582
Register / Syllabus	AI Essentials for Work registration (Nucamp) | AI Essentials for Work syllabus (Nucamp)

“It is essential that we be proactive in finding the best way to use any technology that can pose risks to Kansans' data and privacy,” Governor Laura Kelly said.

Methodology: How we selected the Top 10 Use Cases - Choices were driven by practical guidance and real-world playbooks, not hype: the University of Michigan's Artificial Intelligence Handbook for Local Government and the RGS AI Resources hub supplied checklists, templates, and ethics-first guardrails (transparency, human oversight, risk management), while policy primers like the Canons SOG post and CivicPlus's security guidance flagged public-records, data-protection, and fact-checking requirements as non-negotiable filters.

Selections prioritized low-to-medium risk pilots that deliver clear operational wins, are easy to train staff on, and scale with governance (procurement chatbots, OCR for records, triage tools and budgeting models).

City case studies helped too - Bloomberg's reporting on city programs shows how spreading knowledge and appointing “AI ambassadors” turns isolated tests into department-wide improvements, a single practical change that in one city boosted staff adoption by a factor of ten.

Each use case was vetted for measurability, legal/ethical fit, and training needs before inclusion. Read the full handbook, resource hub, and city strategy examples for the underlying criteria and templates.

“You want your firefighters not to be focused on buying gear, but on fighting fires.” - Bloomberg Cities

Automated citizen inquiries - AI chatbots and virtual assistants - are a practical first step for Topeka agencies wanting faster, 24/7 service without burning staff time: these tools can automate common requests (permits, service tracking, FAQs), offer multilingual answers, and route complex issues to human teams so residents get help immediately while staff focus on the exceptions.

Vendors show rapid wins - Polimorphic reports cut resident calls and voicemails dramatically with an AI search/chat layer that only surfaces answers from trusted city sources (Polimorphic AI chatbot and search for resident services) - and local operators like Answer Topeka still matter for high-touch coverage, especially since 80% of callers who hit voicemail don't leave a message (Answer Topeka 24/7 resident answering service).

Cities nationwide are already using chat and text assistants to scale 311-like access, and municipal chatbots can be configured to link into open data portals, file complaints, guide document submission, and send real‑time alerts - so a small pilot can turn into a noticeable drop in wait times and a measurable bump in satisfaction.

Metric	Reported Change
Operational costs	+21%
Average response time	-38%
Query resolution rate	+28%
Citizen satisfaction rate	+33%

“Our priority is to serve the public in the most efficient way possible. Polimorphic's AI chatbot has transformed how we serve residents, enabling us to better accomplish that priority. Our website is now more useful, accessible, and user-friendly than ever before.” - Micah Hassinger, Director of Information Technology, Passaic County, NJ

Document automation - using OCR to turn scanned permits, license files, and records into searchable PDFs - can shave days off routine workflows in Topeka while making FOIA responses and permit lookups far faster, but it must be done to archival and legal standards: FOIA guidance expects requesters and agencies to research what records exist and where to send requests (FOIA first steps guide from the National Security Archive), and the government's central portal helps track requests and expedited processing (FOIA.gov federal request tracking and guidance).

For long‑term preservation and transfer to NARA, PDFs with embedded OCR text must remain identical in content and appearance to the source (NARA accepts “Searchable Image – Exact” outputs but rejects processes that alter images or use lossy compression), fonts and security settings must meet transfer rules, and agencies should include transfer documentation so records remain discoverable decades from now (NARA PDF records transfer instructions and guidance).

The payoff is tangible: indexed, pixel‑accurate scans let clerks find a single permit clause in seconds instead of paging through boxes, cutting response times and FOIA backlog while preserving the original as evidence.

Requirement	Why it matters
Searchable Image – Exact OCR	Preserves original bit‑mapped image while enabling text search (accepted by NARA)
No lossy compression	Prevents image degradation that can make records unsuitable for archival preservation
Deactivate PDF security	Ensures NARA and public can open and preserve files
Pre‑transfer documentation	Provides software, metadata, and finding aids needed for future access

Predictive policing and crime forecasting offer Topeka practical tools to shift from reacting to incidents toward preventing them: by analyzing historical reports, sensor feeds, and other data, algorithms can flag hot spots and peak times so patrols, outreach, or social services arrive before problems escalate - research even shows the clearest early wins for property‑crime reductions and smarter officer deployment (Thomson Reuters guide to predictive policing).

Vendors and platforms promise decision‑intelligence that turns patterns into actionable routes and schedules, helping smaller agencies squeeze more coverage from limited budgets (Cognyte predictive analytics for policing).

But the “so what?” is local trust: without human oversight, transparency, regular audits, and community input these systems can amplify historical bias or feel like surveillance rather than service - best practice is to focus predictions on places not people, open methods to review, and pair forecasts with prevention programs and civilian oversight to preserve civil liberties while improving public safety.

For Topeka, starting with low‑risk, place‑based pilots that measure outcomes and invite neighborhood stakeholders creates a path to measurable crime prevention without sacrificing accountability.

Method	What it does
Place‑based	Identifies locations and times with historically higher crime risk
Person‑based	Analyzes individual risk factors (e.g., past arrests or victim patterns)
Group‑based	Targets networks or organized groups such as gangs

Emergency response optimization in Topeka can leap from good to game-changing when AI helps triage incidents, prioritize patients, and connect the right teams in seconds: clinical studies and reviews show AI-based triage can analyze EHR vitals and histories to predict outcomes and recommend a triage level nearly instantaneously, improving patient flow and helping clinicians spot subtle high‑risk cases that standard systems miss (AAEM review on AI in ED triage performance); Johns Hopkins' tool already returns risk scores and suggested care pathways “in a matter of seconds,” letting nurses route low‑risk patients onto faster paths and freeing capacity (Johns Hopkins triage tool returns risk scores and care pathways); vendors likewise highlight end‑to‑end care coordination, prioritization, and reduced ICU burden when AI flags critical findings and activates teams (Aidoc overview of ER triage with AI).

For municipalities like Topeka the practical win is clear: quicker, evidence‑backed routing that shortens waits and helps scarce ambulance or ED capacity reach the patients who need it most, while formal pilots and clinical oversight keep safety and equity front and center.

What AI does	Evidence / Source
Predicts patient risk and recommends triage level quickly	Johns Hopkins triage tool
Supports clinician decision‑making in ED triage	AAEM review
Enables care coordination, prioritization, and ICU burden reduction	Aidoc ER triage overview
Applies to disaster and mass‑casualty triage scenarios	BMC systematic review (2024)

“What we've done is help the nurses confidently identify a larger group of those low risk patients.” - Scott Levin, Johns Hopkins

Budgeting and financial forecasting for Topeka's city teams means turning uncertainty into actionable plans: modern municipal platforms let finance staff run multi‑year revenue projections, build “what‑if” scenarios (for example, a one‑year sales‑tax slump or a sudden utility rate shift) and see whether reserves, staffing, or capital projects hold before the council votes.

Best practice is clear - document assumptions, extend forecasts several years out, and present ranges so decisions are rooted in evidence, not guesswork (see the GFOA financial forecasting guidance GFOA financial forecasting guidance for municipal budgeting).

Cloud budgeting and municipal accounting tools bring real‑time updates, collaborative workflows, and faster scenario modeling to smaller staffs (compare GovMax and Apps365 approaches summarized in recent vendor overviews), while integrated suites such as Munetrix bundle forecasting, capital planning, and peer benchmarking so Kansas agencies can visualize tradeoffs across departments and demonstrate fiscal resilience to residents (Munetrix budgeting and forecasting tools for local governments, Municipal scenario‑based budgeting guidance from Edmunds GovTech).

The payoff is practical: clearer decisions, faster responses to revenue swings, and stronger public trust.

Capability	Why it matters	Source
Scenario-based forecasting	Models revenue shocks and policy choices	GFOA / Edmunds GovTech
Cloud, real-time budgeting	Enables collaboration and faster updates	GovMax / Apps365
Integrated capital & benchmarking	Links long-term plans to budgets	Munetrix

Workforce and HR management in Topeka can move from paper headaches to predictable pipelines by combining rigorous assessments with modern applicant tracking and lifecycle tools: the Office of Personnel Management's USA Hire platform - used by over 80 agencies and nearly 1 million applicants annually - offers validated, role‑specific tests and custom assessments that cut processing timelines in real cases (for example, Customs and Border Protection shortened a hiring cycle from 16 to 11 weeks), while public‑sector ATS platforms like NEOGOV Insight automate screening, PII‑blinding, automated communications, and real‑time hiring analytics to speed time‑to‑hire and improve fairness (USA Hire validated assessments and success stories, NEOGOV Insight applicant tracking for government agencies).

Backing assessments with structured interviews, job simulations, or thoughtfully designed questionnaires (OPM's assessment questionnaire guidance and federal best practices) helps hiring managers separate resume polish from real ability, and integrated HRIS/learning modules can track certifications, onboarding, and recurring training so that public‑safety credentials and licenses don't fall through the cracks; the upshot is faster, more equitable hires, measurable compliance, and a visible talent pipeline residents can trust.

Tool	Primary benefit for Topeka HR
USA Hire	Validated, role‑specific assessments and custom testing
NEOGOV Insight	Automated ATS, PII blinding, workflow and reporting
Assessment Questionnaires / Structured Interviews	Behavioral and job‑task screening to improve selection quality

“At a time when the government urgently needs highly qualified professionals to address the many challenges our nation is facing, the hiring process is failing skilled applicants.” - Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service

Urban planning and traffic optimization in Topeka is ready for AI-driven gains because the city already has the building blocks: the MTPO's Complete Streets Design Guidelines set a vision for balanced, safe streets for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders across downtown grids and auto‑oriented suburbs, while the ITS Architecture and Traffic Engineering shop maintain signal specifications, video detection standards, and traffic‑count maps that planners and engineers rely on.

AI tools that optimize signal timing, run transit‑route simulations, or layer demand forecasts over the MTPO's Futures 2045 scenarios can plug into those existing plans to reduce intersection delays, smooth bus schedules, and improve safety on school routes and pedestrian corridors.

Data modeling in Topeka has already shown clear operational wins - pavement forecasting software let public works test funding scenarios and choose strategies that met condition targets on existing budgets - so the “so what?” is tangible: combining strategic plans, signal specs, and predictive models can turn slow, paper processes into near‑real‑time decisions that shorten waits and make streets safer for everyone.

Learn the guiding documents and tools to connect AI pilots to local practice with the Complete Streets guidelines, traffic signal specs, and pavement modeling examples below.

Plan / Tool	What it supports	Source
Complete Streets Design Guidelines	Multimodal street design and local policy framework	MTPO Complete Streets Design Guidelines - Topeka Metropolitan Planning Organization
Traffic signal & detection specs	Signal timing, controller standards, video detection	City of Topeka Traffic Engineering - Signal Specifications and Detection Standards
Data modeling for pavement & planning	Scenario forecasting and evidence‑based investment decisions	ICMA Case Study: How Topeka Used Data Modeling for Pavement Management

“The software gave us quick, actionable insights and a robust, evidence‑based forecast of our future actions and spending to achieve pavement condition goals,” - Jason Peek, director of public works for Topeka

Permit and Licensing Automation (Online Processing): Modern permitting platforms turn Topeka's paperwork bottlenecks into streamlined, auditable flows - intuitive, accessible online forms that applicants can submit anytime from a phone or laptop, automated routing and renewals that push applications to the right reviewer, and eSign/document generation that folds form data straight into final permits to cut manual rekeying (Simpligov Permits and Licensing solutions for municipal permitting).

Approval steps can be automated and tracked end‑to‑end - Microsoft Power Automate's “Start and wait for an approval” action, for example, lets staff respond via email or the approvals center and updates records automatically, so approvals don't stall in someone's inbox (Microsoft Power Automate modern approvals workflow documentation).

The benefits are practical: online filing eliminates PDFs, phone calls, checks, and manual entries, shortens time from application to certification, and improves transparency - one municipality saw a 66% drop in time spent discussing applications after moving online (GovPilot permitting software overview and benefits).

For Topeka, a focused pilot that combines accessible forms, automated routing, and approval workflows can turn routine permits and license renewals into measurable wins for staff efficiency and resident convenience.

Capability	Why it matters	Source
Online, accessible forms	Higher completion rates and 24/7 filing	Simpligov Permits and Licensing solutions for municipal permitting
Automated approvals & routing	Faster sign‑offs and fewer bottlenecks	Microsoft Power Automate modern approvals workflow documentation
End‑to‑end digital permitting	Shorter time to certification, audit trails	GovPilot permitting software overview and benefits

Public health monitoring for Kansas can move from monthly reports to real‑time action when AI‑linked dashboards bring together syndromic ED feeds, hospitalization and vaccine counts, and demographic breakdowns so officials can

spot a ZIP‑code spike before it becomes a countywide headline

and dispatch pop‑up clinics or targeted outreach; the CDC shows how interactive maps and NSSP data power timely visuals for hospitalizations, vaccinations, and ED trends (CDC NSSP dashboards for public health surveillance), while peer‑reviewed reviews underline that dashboards succeed only when designed for local decision‑makers with clear, actionable indicators and user‑centered interfaces (see the JMIR scoping review on dashboard actionability and the BMC design principles scoping review) (JMIR study on US public health data dashboard actionability, BMC Public Health review on surveillance dashboard design principles).

For Topeka and other Kansas jurisdictions, the practical win is measurable: dashboards that prioritize local granularity, routine usability testing, and channels that connect alerts to staffing, vaccine clinics, and community partners turn data into faster, equitable public‑health responses.

Capability	Why it matters	Source
Near‑real‑time syndromic & ED feeds	Detect outbreaks and spikes quickly	CDC NSSP dashboards for syndromic surveillance
Local granularity & disaggregation	Targets interventions to neighborhoods and age groups	JMIR scoping review on dashboard actionability
User‑centered, actionability design	Ensures dashboards change decisions, not just display data	BMC Public Health guidance on surveillance dashboard design

Policy Analysis and Legislation Drafting Assistance: Kansas counsel and Topeka policy teams can use legal AI to compress research and turn dense statutory or regulatory text into usable drafts, annotated briefs, and comparative surveys - Lexis+ AI drafting research and analysis (Lexis+ AI drafting research and analysis), while regulatory summarizers like Enhesa SUM‑IT regulatory summarizer automate first‑pass extraction of obligations and deadlines so analysts focus on interpretation, not transcription (Enhesa SUM‑IT regulatory summarizer).

In practice this means a lengthy document that once took hours to parse can produce a concise, structured summary in seconds - MyCase AI legal document summaries even illustrates how a 50‑page lease becomes an instant, reviewable brief (MyCase AI legal document summaries).

Vital safeguards from the research are clear: preserve client confidentiality, insist on human legal review, verify citations and jurisdictional nuance, and pilot with narrow templates so Topeka gets faster, auditable drafts without sacrificing accuracy.

“The riches are always in the niches.”

Getting started in Topeka means pairing Kansas' new, practical guardrails with small, measurable pilots: follow the statewide generative AI policy to keep Restricted Use Information out of models and require human review (Kansas OITS generative AI policy and guidance), choose low‑risk, high‑value proofs of concept - like Topeka's machine‑learning water‑line prioritization that correctly flagged future breaks and helped avoid costly repairs after a main once released four million gallons near a home (Topeka water-line machine learning case study) - and invest in staff skills so outputs are reviewed and applied safely.

Start with one department, set clear success metrics, protect privacy in contracts, and scale what reduces backlog or cost. For workforce readiness, consider role‑focused training that teaches safe prompting and workflows - Nucamp's 15‑week AI Essentials for Work bootcamp trains staff to use AI responsibly on everyday tasks (AI Essentials for Work registration and course page) - so the city moves from experimentation to repeatable, auditable practice without risking resident data or trust.

Program	AI Essentials for Work
Length	15 Weeks
Focus	Workplace AI tools, prompt writing, practical business skills
Cost (early bird)	$3,582
Register / Syllabus	AI Essentials for Work registration | AI Essentials for Work syllabus

“It is essential that we be proactive in finding the best way to use any technology that can pose risks to Kansans' data and privacy,” - Governor Laura Kelly