19977 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Land Information

19977 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Land Information: How, if at all, has artificial intelligence been deployed in a customer service function in the Minister’s departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any?

Mike Butterick: Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is adopting artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its digital transformation programme, with a focus on improving the quality, timeliness and efficiency of customer service. LINZ’s use of AI includes targeted deployment and trials of AI-enabled tools to support customer-facing functions. Current uses include: • AI-assisted search and information retrieval tools that enable staff to more quickly locate accurate information when responding to customer enquiries • AI-supported drafting tools that help staff prepare clear and consistent responses to common queries • AI-enabled summarisation of customer interactions in the LINZ Customer Hub, allowing staff to focus on resolving issues • trialling intelligent triaging of enquiries to ensure requests are directed to the right team more efficiently. These tools are supporting measurable improvements in customer service performance. For example, LINZ has reduced average call handling times in its Customer Hub from 16 minutes to 12 minutes over the past year, while maintaining service quality, with AI, better use of insights and data, training and knowledge management being the reason why. There are multiple pieces of work under development across LINZ that will have measurable reduction of manual processing effort, and faster deployment of improvements or enhancements to service delivery. Use of AI supports staff to deliver faster and more consistent service while maintaining high levels of accuracy. Customer-facing services continue to be delivered with appropriate human oversight and accountability. LINZ will continue to expand its use of AI in a considered and responsible way, in line with the Public Service AI framework and relevant government guidance. This includes a strong focus on maintaining public trust, protecting privacy, and ensuring transparency, while building capability to meet growing demand and expectations from New Zealanders.