Background
By 2030, around 30 percent of employees in the Berlin public administration are expected to retire. This means a growing skills shortage and increasing pressure on existing structures. Artificial intelligence can provide targeted support in this context. According to studies, around 85% of routine administrative tasks could be handled more efficiently using AI.
BärGPT was developed precisely for this purpose: an AI assistant tailored specifically to the needs of Berlin’s public administration. Created in close collaboration with the Berlin Senate Chancellery, BärGPT is designed to support public sector employees in their daily work – with smart, AI-powered features that make processes simpler, faster, and more user-friendly.
In spring 2024, the Senate Chancellery launched the “AI Taskforce.” Together with CityLAB Berlin, the first workshops were held to explore the potential use cases for AI in public administration. The key finding: there is a need for a practical test environment where new AI solutions can be safely and realistically trialed.
This insight led to the launch of BärGPT. In an agile development process, the first prototypes were co-created with public sector employees, continuously tested, and further developed. This made it possible to not only identify the actual needs with precision, but also to lay a strong technical and practical foundation for a modern AI application in public administration.
Project Goal
BärGPT is designed to support public administration employees with routine daily tasks – whether it’s correcting, summarizing, and translating texts, drafting memos, or responding to emails. Research and idea generation are also key areas where the tool can be applied.
The target group includes all employees in Berlin’s public administration who are looking for smart, AI-based assistance in their everyday work.
How does BärGPT work?
BärGPT is being continuously developed with a strong user-centered approach. New features are added based on real needs and user feedback. At the start of the testing phase, BärGPT focuses on its highest-rated core feature among testers:
Free Chat Function
The free chat function enables flexible use of AI, similar to well-known tools like ChatGPT (OpenAI) or Claude (Anthropic). Users can create their own prompts depending on the task or specific need. Of course, it takes a bit of onboarding—especially in terms of data protection and prompt design—but noticeable efficiency gains quickly become apparent.
Compared to narrowly defined single-use functions, which were critically assessed in early tests, the free chat offers significantly more versatile support in everyday administrative work.
Key use cases
• Writing, correcting, translating, and summarizing texts
• Research and answering general questions
• Quick access to previous conversations via a chat history
Document Management and RAG Search
BärGPT becomes especially powerful when used in combination with its document management features. With just a few clicks, users can upload files, have them automatically analyzed, and prepare them for targeted AI-assisted search using an embedding model. This way, users can quickly find exactly the information they need.
Document Management Features
• Upload documents and search them using RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
• Run queries across multiple files or entire folders simultaneously
• Drag-and-drop file management
• Create folder structures, move or delete files
• File preview and download function
Focus on Digital Sovereignty
Data protection and security are naturally key concerns in public sector applications. That’s why BärGPT uses only open-source components, works LLM-agnostically, and is designed to be run locally in a government-owned data center if needed. This avoids dependencies on major tech providers and creates the foundation for sovereign AI operations.
Help & Tutorials
To ensure BärGPT can be used efficiently in everyday work, a comprehensive help section is available—with clear text guides and short videos.
Contents of the Help Section
• Tutorials for getting started
• Quick guides for common use cases (e.g. “How to write a good memo”)
• Top prompts – tried-and-true examples for typical tasks
• FAQs on data protection, security, and AI use in public administration
What’s the next step?
Our goal: BärGPT should become an integral part of the digital workplace in Berlin’s administration. The focus remains clearly on the actual needs of employees.
In the coming months, we will continue to improve the product together with the Berlin Senate Chancellery in an agile development process. At the same time, talks are being held with other stakeholders in the state to stabilise the offering in the long term.
Team
CityLAB Berlin, Berlin Senate Chancellery
Contact
BärGPT Support: support@baergpt.berlin
