AI Specialists in Public Administration – Needs and Options for Action

However, making effective use of artificial intelligence requires the relevant expertise. Accordingly, the present study looked at 13 million online job advertisements placed in Germany in 2025 to determine the extent to which public administrations are already working to accumulate this expertise. The analysis combined a rule-based and AI-supported method with a machine learning model. The findings show that only 0.7 per cent of public administration job advertisements contain a reference to AI - less than half the proportion in the private sector. This omission is particularly glaring at the local government level, where just 0.3 per cent of job advertisements include an AI requirement. The study makes clear that AI skills in public administration are predominantly required for senior civil service positions. In contrast to the private sector, the use of AI in public authorities is often concentrated on specialised technical roles, whilst such skills are rarely required in managerial positions. There are also regional differences: in 43 per cent of all German counties, not a single AI-related public sector vacancy was advertised in 2025. If artificial intelligence is to become permanently and effectively established in public admini stration, far-reaching reforms of career and training structures will be necessary. Furthermore, the public sector must create attractive conditions for AI specialists and no longer view digitalisation as merely a technical support function, but recognise its importance as a strategic management task.