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Title
UK government coders trial AI coding assistants (GitHub Copilot and Gemini Code Assist) across 50 departments
…not an opportunity we can pass up, as it can help cut backlogs and save money. Developers and engineers across 50 government departments trialled AI coding assistants from Microsoft, GitHub Copilot, and Google, Gemini Code Assist. The trial found widespread satisfaction with the tools among coders, with 72% o…
Description
Developers across 50 UK government departments trialled GitHub Copilot and Google Gemini Code Assist from November 2024 to February 2025. The press release reports time savings of almost an hour a day, only 15% of AI-generated code used without edits, and 72% of users agreeing the tools offered good value.
…le benefits for citizens through improved government services. Notes to editors The trial was conducted by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology from November 2024 to February 2025 . Throughout, the department provided bespoke training, support and guidance on t…
…£45 billion efficiency savings from technology and AI across the public sector. AI assistants are saving government coders the equivalent of 28 working days a year - almost an hour every day - according to new trial results. The boost in efficiency from this AI has meant that more than 1,000 developers…
…t drafts of code that experts then edit, or using them to review existing code. Only 15% of code generated by the AI coding assistants was used without any edits – showing that engineers were taking care to check and correct AI -generated co…
…de Assist. The trial found widespread satisfaction with the tools among coders, with 72% of users agreeing they offered good value for their organisation. Over half of participants - 58% - said they would prefer not to return to worki…
Company
UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
…government coders more productive - saving them almost 6 working weeks a year. From: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and The Rt Hon Kanishka Narayan MP Published: 12 September 2025 2024 to 2026 Starmer Labour government "> This was…
Country
United Kingdom
…rayan MP Published: 12 September 2025 2024 to 2026 Starmer Labour government "> This was published under the 2024 to 2026 Starmer Labour government Coders and tech engineers have saved almost an hour a day by using AI assistant…
Industry
Government & Public Sector
…not an opportunity we can pass up, as it can help cut backlogs and save money. Developers and engineers across 50 government departments trialled AI coding assistants from Microsoft, GitHub Copilot, and Google, Gemini Code Assist. The trial found widespread satisfaction with the tools among coders, with 72% o…
Problem
Public services have been slow to adopt new technology, and government aims to save time on tasks AI can do better and more quickly as part of a £45 billion efficiency target from technology and AI across the public sector.
…ect AI -generated code where needed. Technology Minister Kanishka Narayan said: For too long, essential public services have been slow to use new technology – we have a lot of catching up to do. These results show that our engineers are…
…rent government departments – driving productivity through the Plan for Change. Follows the government pledging to save time on things that AI can do better and more quickly, in bid to find £45 billion efficiency savings from technology and AI across the public sector. AI assistants are saving government coders the equivalent of 28 working days a…
Solution
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology ran a trial from November 2024 to February 2025 in which developers and engineers across 50 government departments used AI coding assistants from Microsoft (GitHub Copilot) and Google (Gemini Code Assist). Developers were told to understand any code written with an assistant and take responsibility for it.
…not an opportunity we can pass up, as it can help cut backlogs and save money. Developers and engineers across 50 government departments trialled AI coding assistants from Microsoft, GitHub Copilot, and Google, Gemini Code Assist. The trial found widespread satisfaction with the tools among coders, with 72% o…
…ch tailored principles from the AI Playbook for government to the use of AICAs, made it clear that software developers should thoroughly understand any code that they develop with an assistant, and take responsibility for it, just as if they’d written every line themselves from scratch. More than 1,250…
Business value
Trial results show time savings of almost an hour a day, equivalent to 28 working days a year. 72% of users agreed the tools offered good value, 65% reported completing tasks faster and 56% said they could solve problems more efficiently. Findings will inform decisions on wider AI adoption across government.
…£45 billion efficiency savings from technology and AI across the public sector. AI assistants are saving government coders the equivalent of 28 working days a year - almost an hour every day - according to new trial results. The boost in efficiency from this AI has meant that more than 1,000 developers…
…- 58% - said they would prefer not to return to working without AI assistance, whilst 65% reported completing tasks faster and 56% said they could solve problems more efficiently. President of Google Cloud EMEA , Tara Brady, said: We are thrilled to see the p…
…ni Code Assist (173) licenses were redeemed across public sector organisations. Findings will inform decisions on wider AI adoption across government. DSIT media enquiries Email press@dsit.gov.uk Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm 02…
AI capabilities
Generative AI
…jackpot in savings to the taxpayer by making the public sector more efficient. The time savings from the AI assistants mostly came from using them to write first drafts of code that experts then edit, or using them to review existing code. Only 15% of code generated by the AI coding assistants was used without any edi…
Technology
GitHub Copilot, Gemini Code Assist
…save money. Developers and engineers across 50 government departments trialled AI coding assistants from Microsoft, GitHub Copilot, and Google, Gemini Code Assist. The trial found widespread satisfaction with the tools among coders, with 72% o…
Implementation approach
The trial was conducted by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology from November 2024 to February 2025 across 50 government departments.
…le benefits for citizens through improved government services. Notes to editors The trial was conducted by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology from November 2024 to February 2025 . Throughout, the department provided bespoke training, support and guidance on t…
Onboarding approach
Throughout the trial, the department provided bespoke training, support and guidance on the use of AI coding assistants.
…ent for Science Innovation and Technology from November 2024 to February 2025 . Throughout, the department provided bespoke training, support and guidance on the use of AI Coding Assistants (AICAs). AI Insights: AI Coding Assistants for developers in HMG guidance , which tailor…
Headline outcome
…vernment "> This was published under the 2024 to 2026 Starmer Labour government Coders and tech engineers have saved almost an hour a day by using AI assistants to help them write code and build new technology. More than 1,000 tech experts used the assistant across 50 different government…
Use case type
Software engineering assistance
…jackpot in savings to the taxpayer by making the public sector more efficient. The time savings from the AI assistants mostly came from using them to write first drafts of code that experts then edit, or using them to review existing code. Only 15% of code generated by the AI coding assistants was used without any edi…
