Governments are increasingly exploring how artificial intelligence can support more efficient, responsive, and inclusive social protection delivery. But where can AI provide practical value, and what foundations need to be in place before governments adopt it?
In this edition of Synergy Leadership Insights, Lilit Gasparyan, Program Director for Synergy Auxilium, discusses how AI can support caseworkers, where it can reduce administrative burdens, and what governments should consider when introducing AI into social protection systems.
Interviewer:
Why is AI becoming increasingly important for modern social protection systems?
Lilit Gasparyan:
Social protection systems are under increasing strain today. Governments are expected to deliver more services, deliver them faster, and do so more fairly, while budgets are becoming tighter and shocks such as climate events and economic crises continue to occur.
At the same time, caseworkers face growing caseloads and a significant administrative burden. This is where AI can bring value by taking over repetitive and routine tasks, allowing caseworkers to focus more of their time on what matters most: working directly with beneficiaries.
Interviewer:
How is AI helping caseworkers in their day-to-day work within Synergy Auxilium?
Lilit Gasparyan:
Within Synergy Auxilium, we have focused on specific problems where AI can help reduce the administrative burden.
One example is the AI caseworker assistant, which is built on the ministry’s user manuals and can guide caseworkers through questions such as how to create an application or generate a payment sheet. This can also help reduce the time and resources required for training and onboarding.
Other capabilities include context-based and intelligent Q&A on case files, document summarization, document classification, and verification. These tools support caseworkers with repetitive and routine tasks, allowing them to focus on their work with beneficiaries.
AI can also support cross program coordination, assist with household eligibility processes, and help identify potential duplicate records. Together, these capabilities can contribute to more inclusive social protection delivery while helping reduce duplication and double dipping.
Interviewer:
How do you ensure AI is used responsibly in social protection?
Lilit Gasparyan:
Responsible use is built into the way we approach AI in Synergy Auxilium. It is not something that is added afterwards.
Data hosting is one important consideration. Ministries can choose whether their data is hosted in-house or in the cloud. In social protection, where systems contain significant amounts of sensitive beneficiary data, the ability to keep data within the institution can be particularly important.
Context is equally important. AI capabilities are based on ministry approved documents, such as standard operating procedures and user guides, rather than relying on unrestricted information from the public internet.
Most importantly, AI does not replace human decision making. It is there to assist caseworkers. Human users remain responsible for decisions throughout the process.
Interviewer:
How do you see AI shaping the future of social protection?
Lilit Gasparyan:
I believe AI will move beyond being something governments use experimentally and become an embedded part of government management information systems.
Its value will increasingly come from supporting fairer, more inclusive, and more responsive social protection delivery. It can also help institutions adapt more effectively when they need to respond to economic, climate, or other shocks.
Interviewer:
What should governments consider when introducing AI into social protection systems?
Lilit Gasparyan:
AI is not a shortcut. Before introducing AI, governments need a strong ground foundation.
If data remains fragmented across different sources and much of an institution’s work is still paper-based, AI may not yet be the right priority. In those circumstances, it can be more important to first invest in robust management information systems, digitize business processes, and consolidate institutional data.
Once that foundation exists, AI can be introduced on top of it where it addresses clearly defined needs.
Interviewer:
How can institutions tell whether AI is delivering real value?
Lilit Gasparyan:
There are several indicators that institutions can use.
Efficiency is one of them. Are cases processed faster? Are caseworkers spending less time on routine administrative work and more time delivering services to beneficiaries?
Consistency is another. Is service delivery consistent across different regions or departments?
Institutions should also look at whether they are reaching beneficiaries more effectively and whether available resources are being directed where they are most needed.
Interviewer:
What advice would you give to government leaders exploring AI for social protection?
Lilit Gasparyan:
Start by defining the exact problem.
Instead of asking, “How can we use AI?”, governments should identify the operational problems they need to address and then determine whether AI is actually the appropriate solution. In some cases, it may not be.
Where AI does provide value, it should support rather than replace caseworkers. The objective should be to reduce administrative burdens and repetitive tasks so that social protection professionals can spend more time on the human side of their work and on delivering assistance to beneficiaries.
Building AI on the right foundation
The potential of AI in social protection depends not simply on introducing new technology, but on identifying the right use cases and having the digital foundations needed to support them.
For governments and social protection institutions, this means combining reliable information systems, structured data, digitized processes, responsible AI practices, and human oversight. With these elements in place, AI can become a practical tool for supporting caseworkers and improving the efficiency and responsiveness of social protection delivery.
Learn more about AI capabilities in Synergy Auxilium and its approach to integrated social protection information management.