Key Highlights:
- Anthropic has been selected by the UK’s DSIT to build and pilot a Claude-powered AI assistant designed to guide users through government services, starting with employment support.
- The AI assistant will follow a safety-first approach and offer personalized guidance while giving users full control over data, memory, and opt-out options under UK data protection laws.
- Anthropic engineers will work alongside UK government teams to build internal AI expertise, following DSIT’s “Scan, Pilot, Scale” framework for responsible rollout.
Anthropic has just announced a major partnership with the UK government, hinting that it’s quite ready to penetrate the public-sector AI market. In the announcement post, the company proudly mentioned that it has been selected by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to help build and pilot a dedicated AI-powered assistant for GOV.UK. On paper, the goal is pretty much straight-forward. Anthropic will help make government services easier to navigate, more personalized, and far less confusing for everyday users.
The Claude-powered GOV.UK AI assistant will guide users through government processes
As announced, the upcoming GOV.UK AI assistant will be powered by Anthropic’s Claude model and is designed for more complex tasks. Here, we are talking about abilities that go beyond just question-and-answer functionality. Anthropic notes that the new Claude-powered assistant will actively guide users through government processes, while offering personalized support based on individual needs.
According to DSIT, employment-related services will be at the center of this initiative. With the help of the new Claude-powered GOV.UK AI assistant, people will get help finding new jobs, access training programs, understand available benefits, and connect with the right government resources. To catch you up, this partnership builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Anthropic and the UK government back in February 2025. Since then, both parties have been working on how advanced AI systems can be introduced into public services without compromising safety, trust, or transparency. The GOV.UK assistant is one of the first tangible outcomes of that ongoing effort.
Both Anthropic and DSIT are focused on a safety-first approach, as they are developing the assistant with robust data protection controls. Users will have full visibility and control over what data is remembered. That’s not all; they’ll also be able to opt out at any time, with assurances that all personal information is handled in line with UK data protection laws. The assistant is also designed to maintain context across interactions, which means users won’t have to start from scratch every time they return. So, we are looking at an AI assistant similar to ChatGPT or Claude, for that matter.
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UK government and Anthropic to jointly develop AI expertise in-house
Apart from user-facing features, the partnership also focuses on building long-term AI expertise within the UK government. Anthropic engineers will work closely with civil servants and developers at the Government Digital Service. This will apparently ensure that the system can be maintained and improved independently. This aligns with DSIT’s “Scan, Pilot, Scale” framework, which allows the government to test and improve new technologies before rolling them out more broadly.
All that said, the GOV.UK project is just another example of how fast Anthropic is expanding its AI investment in the UK. Not to forget, the company also continues to expand its London presence and works closely with the UK AI Safety Institute to evaluate and test its models. Moreover, similar public-sector deployments are already underway globally, including AI education initiatives in Rwanda and Iceland.
