Case | Hallstahammar municipality
Hallstahammar makes AI part of everyday life
What happens when a municipality chooses to see the possibilities first? For Hallstahammar, the answer was clear: with curiosity, courage and structure, AI can quickly become more than a buzzword. Today, Sitevision AI is used as a concrete support in everything from text production to internal communication – and the journey has only just begun.
Background and challenge
Hallstahammar Municipality has long had a strong interest in digitalisation and new technological opportunities. When AI technology took off nationally, the municipality wanted to explore how it could be used practically in both web and intranet – without compromising on security or structure. The challenge was to strike a balance between curiosity and control: to dare to try new things, while ensuring data protection, quality and accountability. At the same time, there was a need to create understanding and security among employees – AI should feel like a support, not a threat.
Solution
The municipality chose to start small but concrete: when the website templates were rebuilt, AI features were introduced in search and page recommendations.
This was followed by a pilot project with personal AI assistants, meeting transcription and other applications. For three months, selected employees tested a platform where they could create their own specialised assistants and use ready-made solutions.
The results were convincing, and since the fall of 2024, Sitevision AI has been used continuously in the editors' daily work:
- to write news and summarise long texts,
- to test content in plain language,
- and to gather information from multiple sources.
Especially on the intranet's HR pages, the benefits have become clear, where AI helps to explain rule-driven information in an understandable way to all employees, regardless of their role.
With the municipality's new AI guideline as support, "curious but cautious", the introduction has become safe, structured and well anchored.
"AI development is happening at breakneck speed and sometimes it feels like we're driving fast with a half-baked windshield – but the important thing is that we're constantly testing, evaluating and learning."
Magnus Tannergren, communicator and website developer
In a short time, Hallstahammar has gone from test to real benefit.
- AI is now systematically used in the municipality's information flows.
- Editors save time and experience simpler work processes.
- The quality of communication has improved.
- The exchange of knowledge between administrations has been strengthened.
AI has become a natural part of daily work – from content production to internal communication – and the municipality continues to develop the area with new initiatives, including an AI assistant for HR issues and future AI support in the customer service chat.
Magnus' three tips to get started with AI
- Accept that the train is leaving.
AI is here to stay. Whether you want it to or not, every organisation needs a strategy for how to respond. The option to completely ignore the technology doesn't really exist. - Start small and concrete.
The first step does not have to be big or complicated. Test a simple function in a limited context. In Hallstahammar, the journey started with AI in search and page recommendations – small efforts that quickly showed value. - Find your AI ambassadors.
Seek out people in your organisation who are curious and want to experiment. Give them the space to test, discuss and inspire others in common forums where the administrations can meet. Hallstahammar also started an intranet group called "We need to talk about AI" – a place for open discussions and exchange of experiences that, at the time of writing, has almost 100 members.