GigaChat Goes Government: How Russian AI Is Reshaping Public Budgeting
Russia launches a pilot project to bring generative AI into public service, aiming to reduce errors and boost efficiency in the national budgeting process.
AI-Powered Budget Modernization
In late June 2025, Russia’s Ministry of Finance and Sberbank signed a cooperation agreement focused on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the public budgeting process. The partnership centers on a multi-agent system powered by GigaChat, one of Russia’s flagship generative AI platforms—a move that marks another milestone in the digital transformation of public administration.
According to the Ministry, GigaChat has already helped automate the preparation and review of budget requests in its pilot phase, cutting approval times and reducing the workload on Ministry staff by up to 70% during peak periods. By the end of 2025, the system is expected to improve expenditure analysis accuracy by up to 80%, making it a valuable decision-support tool for government officials.
Applications Beyond Automation
The system's speed and precision allow it to identify inefficient or incorrect budget proposals early in the process, helping to prevent misuse of public funds. Automating this analysis reduces administrative costs and enables faster responses to socio-economic demands. With fewer manual errors, the overall quality of governance improves.
'It will allow us to rethink routine operations and free up our specialists to focus on more strategic tasks that require nuanced decision-making,' said Anton Siluanov, Russia’s Minister of Finance.
GigaChat evaluates each budget request based on the priority of national projects, regional needs, and the broader macroeconomic context. While the AI handles analytics, final decisions remain firmly in human hands—specifically, with Ministry experts.
Until recently, generative AI in Russia was primarily deployed in commercial sectors like banking, retail, and healthcare. This initiative marks a significant shift, placing AI at the heart of public sector innovation.
From Pilot to National Platform
The GigaChat model developed by Sberbank and the Finance Ministry is easily scalable for regional and municipal use. It could eventually support tender validation, procurement oversight, budget compliance tracking, and tax assessment analysis.
Government-backed research into AI technologies has been underway for several years in Russia, supported by funding through the federal 'Artificial Intelligence' project, part of the broader national 'Data Economy' initiative.
Currently, 13 AI research centers form the country’s core development network, as selected by the Ministry of Economic Development. According to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 21, these centers receive investments from both the state and major industry players like Sber, Yandex, Gazprom Neft, Transport of the Future, and ER-Telecom—over 40 companies in total.
What was once a business-centric technology is now embedded in government processes, helping deliver faster, more transparent decisions. Russia is not just keeping pace with global digital trends—it’s actively shaping them with its own solutions.
