BärGPT: How We Made Berlin's Administrative AI a Reality

Why Berlin Needs Its Own AI Assistant

The Berlin administration is facing growing demands: more tasks, limited resources, and an increasing need for rapid information processing. Many employees are tied up with routine tasks that are necessary but take time away from important work. BärGPT addresses this very issue. The AI assistant provides a secure and data-sovereign environment where generative AI can be utilized in day-to-day administrative work. It operates without relying on commercial platforms, does not result in data leakage, and provides legal clarity.

BärGPT does not change day-to-day administrative work; rather, it lightens the load – across the entire spectrum. The entire Berlin administration – including the Senate Chancellery, the ten Senate departments, subordinate agencies, and all twelve districts – uses the assistant when working with documents. Its strength lies in its administration-specific implementation, both in design and functionality. Uploaded documents can be quickly searched, analyzed, and summarized. This reduces the effort required for recurring tasks, giving employees more time for professional decisions and complex cases.

A discussion that sparked progress on the topic of AI

Together with the Berlin Senate Chancellery, we have established a solid foundation for AI initiatives as part of Gemeinsam Digital:Berlin. Through regular working groups and workshops, we were able to bring stakeholders together, clarify processes, and develop a shared understanding. This collaboration was crucial to the rapid rollout of BärGPT. Our mission: to provide guidance, strengthen networking, and support implementation.

Structures that fostered trust and speed

Using a prototype from CityLAB Berlin and the structures we created, we were able to quickly develop a fully functional management tool. Topics that had previously been abstract were now addressed in concrete terms: privacy notices, purpose limitations, data erasure policies, governance structures, and capacity building for employees. Everything was developed in close collaboration with the relevant authorities. In this project, we made three key contributions that made BärGPT possible.

• We established organizational structure by providing structured support for workshops, interviews, and working groups and by establishing clear processes. This created a framework that facilitated communication between supervisory authorities, responsible parties, and experts from the administration.
• At the same time, we facilitated collaboration together with the Senate Chancellery. All relevant departments – from IT and legal oversight to specialized divisions – were involved early on. Previously separate perspectives gave way to collaborative work. This brought greater clarity, simplification, and accelerated processes.
• And we drove the implementation forward: content, training, concepts, and materials were developed in close coordination and rolled out step by step across the administration. Our close collaboration with the teams led to a robust network that accelerated and stabilized the rollout of BärGPT.

A rollout that had an immediate impact

]init[ was responsible for the entire organizational rollout. Based on our work on data protection and competency issues, we developed the rollout strategy, identified key influencers, trained them, and supported the implementation across the Senate administrations. The training sessions were deliberately application-oriented so that employees could quickly and confidently use their new AI assistant and experience its added value in their daily work.

On November 25, 2025, BärGPT was rolled out statewide. Employees were relieved of some of their workload and given a tool that simplifies everyday tasks. At the same time, confidence in working with AI increased – supported by tutorials, consultation hours, and training materials.