Swiss government backs AI automation for the federal administration

Swiss government backs AI automation for the federal administration

5 October 2026: The Swiss Federal Council has published a report concluding that artificial intelligence and process automation can raise efficiency across the federal administration. The report answers a parliamentary postulate from Zurich FDP National Councillor Andri Silberschmidt, and names five projects to be pushed first, with every department and the Federal Chancellery committed to at least three use cases.

Not yet independently verified. The Federal Council release on admin.ch refused our request, so we relied on two Swiss trade outlets that quote it. We will add the official report when we can open it. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

For the report the government examined more than 130 processes and condensed them into ten reference processes, among them handling external requests, consultations between offices, case and application review, software development and support, data management, translation and business support processes. Netzwoche says the potential is greatest for repetitive tasks with clear, stable processes and good data.

The five projects named are automating the consultation between offices, technology-assisted translation, review of applications and cases, extracting and harmonising data, and back-office support processes such as finance and procurement checks. Inside IT adds that the finance and procurement checks would cover correctness, contract reference, budget conformity and compliance with internal rules.

The government's reasoning is demographic. Netzwoche quotes it as saying the administration will have to carry as many tasks or more with fewer staff, as data volumes rise. It points to steps already taken: a partial strategy on the use of AI systems and the launch of a shared service for business process automation, GFD BPA. Several units already run AI and other automation in production.

The report is just as frank about limits. Netzwoche quotes the Federal Council saying that, because of the tight fiscal situation, the resources needed to follow every use case are currently missing, which is why it is bundling resources on use cases that matter across departments. The legal framework for automation tools is still being drafted, and keeping implementation uniform across offices will be a challenge. Training reaches only parts of the administration at present, and the report says staff and managers need to be able to spot automation potential and judge legal, security and data-protection requirements.

Next, the Federal Council wants to examine how an internal portfolio of the AI and automation systems developed, procured and used by the federal administration could be built and kept current. The long-term aim is a view across all departments that improves information flow, shared use of solutions and steering. The government also says the work needs more intensity and coordinated investment in common foundations, from data to IT infrastructure.

Sources

• Netzwoche: Wie KI die Bundesverwaltung effizienter machen soll, 5 October 2026
• Inside IT: Bund beschleunigt Verwaltungsprozesse mit KI, 5 October 2026