Up to 10,000 Flemish government and local authority staff in Flanders will soon be able to use Microsoft's AI assistant to help them with their work. The Flemish Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele (nationalist) made a verbal agreement with the US technology company Microsoft for the purchase of 10,000 Copilot licences at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Flemish authorities close big AI deal: 10,000 civil servants will get access to Microsoft Copilot
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The Flemish government will sign a contract for 10,000 Copilot licences very soon after a detailed verbal agreement was reached in Davos. The contract will run for the next 4 years. Its value has not been disclosed.
The deal between the Flemish authorities and Microsoft is the largest public sector contract for the company's Copilot AI assistant in Europe. Mr Diependaele says that opting for a contract that covers both Flemish and municipal authority staff in Flanders offers the advantage of economy of scale and the new tool will help improve efficiency.
Greater operational efficiency for public services
The Copilot AI tool will be introduced step by step and will be applied in different ways according to the specific needs of each individual public service. Mr Diependaele’s office says that, for instance, Copilot should lead to more efficient and faster processing of files. The contract will be signed officially once it has been approved by the Flemish cabinet.
The Flemish civil service has used Microsoft products for many years. Around 15,000 Flemish civil servants use Microsoft365 tools, such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint. This contract too was renewed and extended in Davos.