How can our AI assistant support the Berlin administration with complex tasks? Here are two further insights from two different Senate administration reports on the tasks for which they use BärGPT.
The response to BärGPT within the Berlin city administration remains as strong as ever: with over 14,000 users already, it is clear that the need for powerful AI support extends far beyond simple routine tasks. To continuously improve the application, the CityLAB team relies on direct dialogue with those who put the tool through its paces on a daily basis. In this second part of our practical series, we hear from two representatives from different Senate departments who are already making extensive use of BärGPT and are actively involved in its further development.
BärGPT as a sparring partner for complex topics: An insight into SenWiEnBe
Matthias Pirog from the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises (SenWiEnBe) has been a user since the very beginning. As a member of the city-wide AI task force, he oversaw the development of BärGPT from the initial concept right through to the beta phase. In his department, which deals with topics such as energy and innovation, the work is characterised by a high volume of information. Mr Pirog uses the tool several times a day for a wide range of tasks: from brainstorming and text summarisation to acting as a ‘devil’s advocate’.
“The tool is most helpful to me when it comes to summarising information in a structured way, gathering ideas, and acting as a sparring partner to help me reflect on and develop my own ideas, for example for workshop formats.” Matthias Pirog, Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises
He particularly appreciates the clear and intuitive user interface, which makes it almost possible to learn the system on your own. Mr Pirog uses the integrated help centre not only for prompting techniques, but also as a kind of news feed for legal updates. For him, BärGPT primarily offers a secure space for handling sensitive administrative information – a decisive advantage over freely available market solutions.
Saving time for what really matters with BärGPT: Insights from SenASGIVA
BärGPT is already being used successfully within the Senate Department for Labour, Social Affairs, Equality, Integration, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination (SenASGIVA). Anna Maria Stahl-Czechowska became aware of the topic of administrative AI through positive reports from Hamburg and is delighted with the Berlin solution. She uses the AI assistant several times a week to draft emails, text modules and initial draft memos (without personal data, of course).
For her, BärGPT is a tool that saves valuable time when resources are scarce, thereby easing the workload on specialist staff.
“We have more tasks rather than fewer, and it’s simply enjoyable to work with an AI that doesn’t replace us but helps us when resources are tight, so that we also have time for other specialist tasks. Ultimately, this helps to build our resilience.” Anna Maria Stahl-Czechowska, Senate Department for Labour, Social Affairs, Equality, Integration, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination
BärGPT wish list for the future: online access and image processing
Despite the positive experiences, there are clear ideas on how BärGPT can be made even more effective. Matthias Pirog sees direct online access as a key technical requirement for ensuring that the information remains up to date and for further reducing the error rate and hallucinations. He would also like to see greater depth in the linking of sources.
Anna Maria Stahl-Czechowska, on the other hand, is looking at the multimedia capabilities: she would be delighted if BärGPT could in future also read JPG files or even generate simple graphics and images based on prompts.
A tool that grows with your needs
The experiences of Matthias Pirog and Anna Maria Stahl-Czechowska make it clear: BärGPT is more than just a text generator. It offers a low-threshold entry point into the world of generative AI, combining security and efficiency in day-to-day administrative work. However, to ensure the tool retains its acceptance in the long term, it must be continuously expanded with features from the ‘open-source tool ecosystem’ to prevent the emergence of shadow AI.
Here at BärGPT, we’re all the more delighted to receive so much helpful feedback, which we’re currently gathering through our first major user survey. And for those who don’t have any questions but simply want to find out more: the key information, including video tutorials, can be found on the BärGPT help page.
Fancy reading more user reviews? Click here for the first part of our hands-on review of BärGPT.
