LOS ANGELES, CA — California has introduced AskCA, a new artificial intelligence-powered digital assistant designed to make it easier for residents to find and navigate state and local government services.
The tool was introduced Sept. 9 by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, which said the project is intended to provide Californians with a single starting point for navigating government programs rather than requiring residents to search through multiple agency websites.
The California Governor’s Office said the prototype was developed by the state’s Office of Data and Innovation and was designed around common “life events,” including finding a job, starting a business, accessing family services and recovering from a disaster.
Residents can already sign up to participate in the pilot through AskCA, with the state seeking adults who live in California to test the system and help refine its responses.
AI designed around government services
The idea behind AskCA is different from a general-purpose chatbot. Instead of functioning primarily as a broad conversational AI service, the state says the tool is being developed specifically to help people find government programs and understand how to access them.
The Office of Data and Innovation built the AskCA knowledge base in collaboration with Anthropic’s Claude model, according to the governor’s office. California’s Department of Technology is providing security support, while Anthropic is providing strategic guidance and technical assistance through a partnership announced by the state in July.
The system is intended to guide users toward information and services based on what they are trying to accomplish.
That could include someone looking for employment opportunities, a resident attempting to start a business, a family searching for state services or someone trying to recover after a disaster.
The state says subject-matter experts from government agencies are continually helping inform the system’s responses. Officials say this is intended to make the answers more accurate and ensure that guidance is backed by verified government sources rather than relying solely on the AI model’s general knowledge.
California is testing the system before broader use
AskCA is being introduced as a pilot, meaning the state is using the initial group of users to identify problems and improve the tool before expanding its capabilities.
According to the governor’s office, early research and testing included more than 140 fire-recovery leaders and Altadena wildfire survivors, a dozen job seekers at a recent CalHR job fair and more than 100 general users.
The project grew in part from California’s response to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Officials said the experience highlighted the difficulty residents can face when trying to find the right government assistance while dealing with a major disaster.
Rather than requiring residents to understand which state agency is responsible for a particular program, AskCA is intended to begin with the person’s situation and direct them toward relevant services.
That approach could be particularly significant for people who are unfamiliar with California’s large network of departments and programs.
Job search feature coming to CalCareers
The first department to put the AskCA technology into a live public service will be the California Department of Human Resources, or CalHR.
The state said a new AI-powered job-skills matching feature is scheduled to launch Sept. 30 on CalCareers.
The feature will allow job seekers to upload a résumé and receive potential matches with California state job classifications based on their experience.
California said the feature will initially operate as a pilot and will be available to the public while the state continues refining the system.
Officials also said the job-matching tool will not store personal information and will not require a CalCareers account.
Privacy remains an important issue
The introduction of an AI assistant for government services also raises questions about how information provided by residents is handled.
California’s AskCA privacy policy says the Office of Data and Innovation limits the collection of personal information and has privacy requirements governing information handled through the service.
The state’s privacy notice also warns users not to provide sensitive information unless a service specifically requests it, including Social Security numbers or private health information.
According to the notice, conversations provided to the AI assistant may be saved to preserve previous responses during a user’s interaction. The state also says information is stored in U.S. data centers and that automated privacy-scrubbing tools are used to remove personal details before information is retained for longer-term review.
Those policies are particularly relevant because AskCA is intended to help people with government services, some of which can involve highly sensitive personal circumstances.
California’s Department of Social Services, for example, already handles programs involving public assistance and maintains confidentiality and privacy requirements for information submitted by applicants and recipients.
AI safety concerns add another layer to the rollout
The launch also comes during renewed debate over the risks associated with increasingly capable artificial intelligence.
Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic researcher, announced his resignation from the company and raised concerns about the direction of advanced AI development. Evan Hubinger, an Anthropic alignment researcher, subsequently publicly discussed his own concerns about the potential risks posed by future superintelligent systems.
Hubinger’s estimate that there could be more than a 10% chance of AI causing human extinction within the next decade was presented as his personal assessment, rather than an official prediction by Anthropic.
Those comments do not specifically concern AskCA or the California government’s pilot. They do, however, add context to the broader debate surrounding the use of AI systems in increasingly important settings.
For California, the question is not simply whether an AI system can answer questions. The state is attempting to use the technology as a pathway into government services, making accuracy, privacy, security and transparency important parts of the pilot.
What happens next
California is now seeking residents to participate in the AskCA pilot. People interested in testing the system can register through the state’s AskCA signup page.
The pilot will allow the state to evaluate how well the assistant helps residents find appropriate services and where its responses need improvement.
The state says its longer-term goal is to create a more unified experience for people seeking government assistance, reducing the need to understand California’s complicated agency structure before finding help.
For residents, the practical test will be whether AskCA can turn a broad question — such as how to find a job, start a business or recover after a disaster — into accurate and actionable information from the appropriate government agency.
The technology is still being tested, and the pilot will determine how the system develops from there.
