Sydney, Australia, October 7, 2025 - Despite near-universal internet access, one in three Australians are failing to engage with government services online, not because of barriers to access, but because those services aren’t front of mind, according to new research from Publicis Sapient, a digital business transformation company.

The fourth edition of the annual report, The 2025 Digital Citizen Report: Bridging the AI Gap makes the case for AI-powered personalisation and trust-first design as the key to boosting the uptake of digital government services.

Australians are online, but government services are often overlooked, forgotten or distrusted. Only 34% use government websites as their first port of call for key life events and 18% engaged with a government service via app or phone. Friends and family (55%) and Google (42%) were the top ports of call for seeking information and support during life events.

Vulnerable groups in particular are digitally active but still disengaged from public platforms, with many believing they will find services too difficult to use.

More than half of Australians (51%) now use generative AI tools in their daily lives, with most having at least some level of familiarity. While popular for tasks like image generation (24%), education (21%), and staying up to date with news and current events (22%), a notable 21% of Australians are already turning to generative AI to find information about government services, signalling a shift in how citizens seek out support and engage with public platforms.

Steven Metzmacher, Vice President, Public Sector, Publicis Sapient Australia said, “Citizen behaviour is evolving faster than government technology. People are already relying on AI to find information and navigate services, and they expect the same speed, relevance and accessibility from government. To keep pace, public sector websites need to move beyond static pages and become machine-readable, structured platforms that AI can interpret and respond to. Without that shift, we risk creating a growing gap between the way Australians live their digital lives and the way public services are delivered.”

The role of AI to bridge the gap and personalise

The report makes clear that Australians are open to the use of AI in government, but only if it delivers meaningful benefits. People want services that are easier, faster and more intuitive. While just 24% are fully comfortable sharing their data being shared across government services, a further 37% say they’re willing to do so if it improves their experience. There’s also strong demand for a simpler, more unified approach to digital services, with 67% of Australians wanting a single digital entry point for government, and 60% of in-person users saying they would prefer easy online access if it were available.

But AI must be implemented with transparency, ethical guardrails and citizen consent. Almost all respondents (89%) requested some transparency in Gen AI and government services, with 45% requesting that source code be made available to the public. Only 11% said they would completely trust an AI application in a government context and would need visible and tight regulations (49%).

"To close the real digital divide, leaders must shift focus from access to experience, awareness and trust. AI can help bridge that gap by learning from citizen behaviour, reducing friction in service discovery, and tailoring communication to individual needs - fundamentally redesigning not just how services are used but how they are surfaced and understood," said Metzmacher.

Gen AI’s potential to transform government services

Gen AI in particular shows significant promise, with 51% of survey respondents now using these tools daily, up from 40% in 2024. The most common use was “finding out information and answering questions” (42%), and notably, one in five (21%) are using Gen AI specifically to seek information and answer questions about government services.

Privacy breaches, misinformation and scams are key concerns for 45% of Australians when it comes to Gen AI. While these risks, along with issues like data sovereignty, bias and security, are notable, the potential benefits of integrating AI into public services are greater. As with social media, its use must be guided by clear governance, transparency and strong safeguards to ensure trust and accountability.

Angela Robinson, Country Managing Director, Publicis Sapient Australia said, “Improving digital government services is not only about convenience, but also about making sure Australians can access the support they need in ways that reflect how they live and engage today. At the recent Economic Reform Roundtable, the development of an artificial intelligence plan for the Australian Public Service was identified as one of the top ten priorities for driving long term economic growth.

“This research shows why that matters. People are already using AI to complete everyday tasks, including finding information about government services, yet many official platforms remain difficult to find or navigate. To build a more connected, productive and inclusive future, governments need to invest in digital experiences that are designed around people and the technologies that they use every day.”

Key Findings:

• 32% of Australians don’t engage with government services online because they’re not top of mind
• Only 34% use government websites as their first port of call for key life events
• 57% say personalisation would increase their likelihood of engaging with digital government services
• Vulnerable groups are digitally active but still disengaged from public platforms
• Across nine major life events (such as having a baby, enrolling in school or retiring), Australians were more likely to seek help from friends, family or even Google before turning to a government website or service.

Please use the link to download the full report: https://www.publicissapient.com/insights/citizen-insights-hub

Technical Note

These are the findings of the fourth edition of the Publicis Sapient Digital Citizen Report.

It was conducted online in April 2025 and involved 5,250 participants across Australia from a broad range of demographic groups, reflective of the country's population.

About Publicis Sapient

Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company. We partner with global organizations to help them create and sustain competitive advantage in a world that is increasingly digital. We operate through our expert SPEED – Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering and Data & AI – capabilities which, combined with our culture of curiosity and deep industry knowledge, enable us to deliver meaningful impact to our clients’ businesses through reimagining the products and experiences their customers truly value. Our agile, data-driven approach equips our clients’ businesses for change, making digital the core of how they think and what they do. Publicis Sapient is the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe with 20,000 people across 72 offices worldwide. For more information, visit publicissapient.com.