Two audiences, two tools: how Nigeria uses AI to help civil servants and citizens find government information

The problem

A citizen in Nigeria who needs something from government, a certificate, a licence, an answer about a benefit, first has to work out which office holds it. Services and information are spread across a large number of federal ministries and agencies, and each is a separate door to find. Language shapes the search too. English is the official language, while Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba are among the most widely spoken, so where information sits and which language it is in both affect who can reach it.

Officials face a version of the same task from the inside. To carry out their duties they turn to the public service's rules, circulars, and administrative guidelines, and locating the right one takes time. The government has pointed to bureaucratic delay as a brake on how quickly it can serve people.

The two sit either side of the same question: how the public reaches the state, and how the people inside it find what they need to act. Nigeria set out to work on both.

The solution

Nigeria has introduced AI into public services along two tracks, one for citizens and one for civil servants.

Service-Wise GPT: a tool for civil servants

The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation presented Service-Wise GPT at the Global Government Summit in early 2025 as an AI assistant for public servants. It lets officials look up official rules, circulars, and administrative guidance, and its first version concentrated on routine work such as drafting memos and researching policy. The authorities report that the tool has strengthened coordination between institutions, helped retain institutional knowledge, and supported officials' decisions. It forms part of a civil-service reform effort aligned with the government's Renewed Hope Agenda.

GovGuide: a citizen-facing assistant

The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy launched GovGuide Nigeria on 21 May 2026 as a multilingual AI assistant for the public. Citizens query it by voice or text through a web interface, and it covers material published by more than 35 federal ministries and over 60 agencies. It runs in four languages: English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. The ministry designed it for the whole population and named citizens in rural areas and those with limited literacy as priority users. The Nigerian company Publica AI built it on Meta's openly available Llama models, working with the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

Strategy, skills, and infrastructure around the tools

Both tools have arrived alongside a broader national effort on AI. In 2025 Nigeria published a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, led by the digital economy ministry with its IT and AI agencies, setting a five-year plan to 2029. UNESCO has begun training civil servants in AI and responsible technology use, and a separate Google-backed programme run with the Apolitical platform trains public servants in AI skills. The government is also expanding its cloud infrastructure and running large-scale digital-skills schemes.

The impact

Both tools are recent, and most reporting covers their launch and reach; measured results are not yet available. Any usage or performance figures come from the government's own statements and remain independently unverified.

1. GovGuide covers a large share of federal bodies

At launch, the assistant drew on material from more than 35 ministries and over 60 agencies, in four languages. The ministry has not published figures for users, accuracy, or effect on service delivery.

2. Service-Wise GPT is in use, and the government has reported early figures

The government stated that in early trials, the tool reduced users' time by 73% and that 90% were satisfied. By May 2026, the Head of the Civil Service reported more than 50,000 conversations.

Lessons learned

• Build separate tools for citizens and for staff. The two groups need different things from government information: the public wants to find and reach services, while officials need to locate the rules they apply. Nigeria met each need with its own assistant, GovGuide for the public and Service-Wise GPT for civil servants.

• Match the interface to how people actually get online. A citizen assistant reaches more people when it speaks the languages they use and accepts speech as well as text, which matters most for rural and low-literacy users. GovGuide launched in four Nigerian languages with voice and text input for that reason.

• Building on existing models can shorten the path to launch. Assembling a service on openly available models with local and institutional partners avoids starting from scratch, as Nigeria did by having a local developer build its citizen tool on open models.

• Deploy tools alongside strategy, skills, and infrastructure. AI tools land better in a system that is being readied for them through a guiding strategy, staff training, and the underlying infrastructure. Nigeria paired its tools with a national AI strategy, civil-servant training, and cloud infrastructure.

Launch year: 2025

This case study was written with assistance from artificial intelligence.