California launches AskCA, an AI assistant organised around life events
The prototype helps residents find services when they lose a job, start a business or recover from a disaster, with answers checked by state experts.
California has launched AskCA, a prototype AI assistant meant to be a single starting point for state services, Governor Gavin Newsom announced. Built by the state's Office of Data and Innovation, it helps people find resources around life events such as looking for work, starting a business, accessing family services and recovering from disasters, StateScoop reported.
The tool uses Anthropic's Claude model, but the state says it relies on subject matter experts to validate answers against verified sources rather than generating free-form conversation like many commercial chatbots. The Department of Technology provides cybersecurity support.
Born from the wildfires
The project grew out of the response to the Los Angeles wildfires of 2025, which destroyed more than 16,000 homes, businesses and other buildings. Last year the state also launched an AI tool to speed up building permits for rebuilding.
"When a Californian needs help, they shouldn't have to become an expert in government to find it," Newsom said.
In June California agreed discounted access to Claude for state and local agencies for administrative work, analysis and constituent services.
Life events, not departments
Organising services around life events is an old idea in digital government, used by Estonia and the UK among others, because people think in situations, not in department names. AI assistants make it easier to offer, since a person can describe their situation in their own words. The hard part remains the content underneath: up-to-date, accurate information owned by the departments that run each service. AskCA's reliance on expert-validated sources addresses that directly, and is what will decide whether residents can trust its answers.
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