Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania state employees report saving 95 minutes a day in a ChatGPT Enterprise pilot
Pennsylvania gave ChatGPT Enterprise to 175 state employees across 14 agencies for a year-long pilot. In exit surveys, participants reported saving an average of 95 minutes a day, and the state plans to widen access.
Key figures
Copied exactly from the sources. Copy any figure with its citation.
over 85 percent
Participants who rated the experience somewhat or very positive1
What it took
The problem
Governments handle large volumes of writing, research and paperwork. Pennsylvania wanted to know whether a general-purpose AI assistant could help state workers get more done, and under what safeguards. In September 2023 the governor signed an executive order setting principles for generative AI use and creating a governing board.
What they built
The state ran a pilot in which employees used ChatGPT Enterprise, OpenAI's business version of its chat assistant. The Office of Administration ran it with OpenAI and researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. It was a pilot with real staff doing real work, not a lab test.
How they did it
The pilot began in January 2024. It gave access to 175 employees in 14 agencies, including people in HR, IT, policy and program management. The state gathered evidence through biweekly feedback sessions, user interviews, live demonstrations and exit surveys. Staff used the tool for writing, research, summarizing documents and IT support. Route Fifty reports that employees also received training and support during the pilot.
Results
The state reports that participants saved an average of 95 minutes a day on administrative work, and that over 85 percent rated the experience positive. Nearly half had never used ChatGPT before. The state links the tool to faster hiring timelines, easier procurement work and quicker contract analysis. Employees also stressed that human review stays essential.
After the pilot, the Office of Administration said it was working to buy a vetted set of generative AI tools. The governor said more employees would get access from June 1, 2025.
What to copy
Run a time-boxed pilot with a mixed group of roles, collect feedback on a fixed rhythm, and bring labor representatives into the plan before scaling.
All reported figures
| Measure | Figure | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Average time saved per day by pilot participants, self-reported over the year-long pilot | 95 minutes1 | |
| Participants who rated the experience somewhat or very positive | over 85 percent1 | |
| Participants who had never used ChatGPT before the pilot | 48 percent1 | |
| Average daily time spent using the tool, per exit surveys, as reported by Route Fifty | 35 minutes2 | |
| Employees who gave direct feedback to the state, out of 175 given access | 1362 |
Lessons for your project
Pair a pilot with academic or outside evaluators. Pennsylvania worked with Carnegie Mellon researchers and collected feedback every two weeks.
Recruit across many roles. Staff in HR, IT, policy and program management took part, so the results speak to more than one job type.
Budget for training. The state says early learning curves showed that support is needed for staff to build the tool into daily work.
Involve unions and staff early. The state set up a labor and management group and stated that the aim is to help employees, not replace them.
Treat self-reported savings as a starting point. Plan a harder measure of output before you scale.
Caveats
- The time savings come from participants' own exit surveys, reported by the state. No independent measurement or audit is cited.
- Route Fifty describes the group as just under 200 employees, while the state and the same article cite 175 given access and 136 who gave feedback.
- The state says the pilot ran over a year from January 2024. The sources give no exact end date. The January 2024 start is the launch date stated in the state's release.
- Some participants hit problems, including image generation, text extraction from PDF files and accurate citations, according to Route Fifty's reading of the state report.
- Route Fifty confirms the pilot took place, but it repeats the state's figures and cites no independent measurement. Every outcome figure traces back to the Shapiro administration.
Sources
- Shapiro Administration Leads the Way in Responsible, Ethical Use of AI; First-Ever Generative AI Pilot for State Workers Leads to Significant Time Savings and Increased Productivity
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Administration · 2025-03-21 · Press release · pa.gov
- Pennsylvania governor says AI has 'real promise' as he unveils pilot program results
Route Fifty · 2025-03-24 · News · route-fifty.com
Summarized in our own words from the sources above. Spotted an error? See corrections.