What happened
The OECD's Digital Government Outlook 2026, published 15 June 2026, is the first comprehensive forward-looking report on digital government across 36 OECD members and 8 accession candidates, built on two quantitative indices: the Digital Government Index (DGI) and the Open, Useful and Re-usable Data (OURdata) Index. The OECD average DGI score increased by 9 percentage points between 2023 and 2025, and the OURdata Index rose 5 points, but the report finds that implementation still lags strategy. On AI specifically, the Outlook finds that 'AI is now used in almost every government in the OECD, mostly to improve internal processes and public services,' yet governments 'are not fully ready' — progress is held back by uneven digital foundations, skills gaps, and absent data governance. The report evaluates six dimensions of digital transformation (digital by design, data-driven public sector, government as platform, open by default, user-driven, and proactiveness) and identifies AI governance as both an opportunity and a readiness gap across member states.
Why it matters
This is the OECD's authoritative benchmark for how governments are deploying and governing AI — a direct input for any executive or policy lead advising on public-sector AI strategy, procurement, or cross-border regulatory alignment.
Action needed
Map your organisation's AI governance posture against the six DGI dimensions to identify gaps the OECD flags as systemic across member governments, particularly data governance and skills foundations.