This country’s AI-driven government overhaul is starting to pay off

Kazakhstan is betting on the digital transformation of government to drive GDP growth, improve efficiency and attract investment.

Officials say digitalisation is helping optimise public spending, increase the productivity of the state apparatus and improve tax collection through end-to-end transparency across government processes. The growing integration of artificial intelligence into public infrastructure and services is expected to accelerate that transition further.

AI is already reshaping decision-making in the public sector, from the robotic processing of mass social applications to the predictive allocation of urban and budgetary resources based on big data analysis.

The country’s Digital Government Support Center, which oversees the design and optimisation of Kazakhstan’s e-government architecture, says state investment returns from GovTech projects have exceeded almost €2 billion. Officials attribute the gains to a radical optimisation of operating costs and a reduction in shadow economy activity.

A new AI era

Kazakhstan is now rolling out a new national strategy focused on large-scale digitalisation and AI integration, with existing digital services receiving an AI upgrade.

“Forty percent of all public services will be re-engineered and AI tools integrated. Data across government agencies will also be recombined,” said First Vice-Minister of AI and Digital Development Rostislav Konyashkin.

This year, Kazakhstan held its first national AI solutions competition for government agencies and state-backed entities. The AI Governance Cup attracted applications from more than 180 industry players already developing AI tools, including legal and tax assistants as well as energy-sector solutions.

The country’s e-government platform is now being upgraded to offer proactive public services powered by artificial intelligence.

The digital push is also translating into economic gains. In 2025, IT service exports rose by 65%, reaching nearly €1 billion. Officials say exports could exceed €4 billion by 2029, with GovTech expected to become a leading driver of Kazakhstan’s IT exports.

Kazakhstan’s digital progress is also reflected internationally. The country ranked 24th out of 193 economies in the 2024 UN Global E-Government Development Index and placed 10th globally in the Online Services Index, alongside leaders such as South Korea, Denmark and Estonia.

Adoption is key

Officials say the transition to online and paperless services is reducing delivery times and administrative costs while improving access for citizens and businesses.

Currently, 57% of government data has been digitised, primarily across education, healthcare, finance and social support systems. The data is first systematised and then integrated into public information systems and digital services.

Officials say this level of maturity is already sufficient to support large-scale AI deployment.

“This indicates that more than half of all critically important datasets have been formalised and are available for automated analysis,” representatives from the Digital Government Support Center noted.

Overall, digitalisation has translated into direct economic gains by minimising administrative costs, automating interagency processes and optimising public spending.

“The introduction of integrated data systems and the elimination of duplicated functions have enabled a transition to paperless interaction, significantly improving government productivity and service delivery speed,” officials said.

Two decades of reshaping public services

For nearly two decades, Kazakhstan has been reshaping public service delivery through e-government solutions. Today, visiting government offices in person is gradually becoming obsolete.

Initially launched as an information portal, eGov.kz evolved into the primary channel of interaction between the state and citizens, ensuring uninterrupted remote access to essential public services.

The digital infrastructure integrates state databases, departmental information systems, the eLicense.kz portal, the National Certification Authority and the e-government gateway.

In 2020, biometric identification was introduced, significantly reducing barriers to accessing services. During the pandemic, usage surged as digital documents expanded rapidly and projects such as Smart Bridge, Smart Data Ukimet and eGov Business were launched.

Today, more than 70% of the population uses the eGov portal or SuperApp, with around 5.5 million citizen requests processed annually, according to National Information Technologies JSC (NITEC).

Users can now register a legal entity or the birth of a child online in around 15 minutes while simultaneously applying for social benefits and joining a kindergarten waiting list.

Currently, 93% of more than 1,300 public services are available online, while citizens also have access to 39 digital documents. Kazakhstan aims to increase online availability to 98% next year as it moves towards a more human-centred model of governance.

New AI-driven solutions powered by the country’s large language model are expected to remove even more bureaucratic bottlenecks in the coming years.

Life admin through a ChatGPT-style interface

Kazakhstan has launched AlemGPT, a chatbot that allows citizens to access public services through a conversational interface similar to ChatGPT. Instead of navigating complex forms, users can submit requests through simple prompts.

The AI agent processes requests by accessing relevant personal and family data while integrating services across multiple government systems.

“AlemGPT eliminates bureaucracy and accelerates processes. Currently, citizens must navigate long chains of requests for more than 400 services across 20 systems, while businesses deal with 600 services across more than 10 systems,” said Managing Director for Marketing and Strategy at NITEC Azamat Baimen.

The platform already covers key “life events” such as childbirth, changes in family status and applications for social benefits. In the future, officials say it will evolve into a deeply integrated AI assistant covering the full life cycle of both citizens and businesses.

Officials point out that the concept of a single AI window for government services is not entirely new, with similar systems already deployed in places such as Singapore and Estonia.

“Kazakhstan’s level of implementation is above average. AlemGPT positions Kazakhstan as a global frontrunner extending well beyond Central Asia due to the scale of its sovereign digital infrastructure,” Baimen said.

The platform is now expanding beyond public services by integrating businesses and second-tier banks, turning the AI system into a broader assistant spanning public, financial and commercial services.

The socio-economic impact of AI

According to the General Director of Digital Government Support Center Aliya Ospanova, Kazakhstan already has the core ingredients needed to build an AI-driven economy.

She points to the country’s digital infrastructure, including a sovereign supercomputer ranked 86th globally, as well as a new digital code designed to provide a regulatory blueprint for the development of AI and industry.

Human capital development has also become a priority. Over the past year, Kazakhstan has trained more than one million people in AI skills, including schoolchildren, students, politicians and CEOs of national companies.

“AI removes bottlenecks across industries, reduces bureaucracy and lowers operational risks. Most importantly, it can strengthen risk management and help mitigate industrial losses,” Ospanova said.

Digitalisation in practice

Several government platforms already demonstrate how synchronised state and citizen data is being transformed into practical digital solutions.

The Digital Family Card system assesses the social wellbeing of households using integrated government data. It identifies families in need of support and enables the proactive delivery of social services and benefits without citizens having to submit applications.

Meanwhile, Smart Data Finance, developed by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance, integrates and analyses financial, tax and customs data to create unified digital taxpayer profiles. The platform improves budget transparency, automates tax administration, identifies shadow economy activity and applies AI tools to financial analysis and budget forecasting.

The Unified Healthcare Data System, Kazakhstan’s centralised healthcare information platform, maintains electronic medical records and enables data exchange between medical organisations and government systems. Officials say it is helping improve access to healthcare services while supporting the development of digital healthcare tools and analytics.

As Kazakhstan accelerates its AI-driven overhaul of public administration, officials are positioning digital government not simply as a convenience tool, but as a long-term economic strategy.