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The power of Gem for your municipality

Gem helps municipalities answer residents' frequently asked questions quickly, consistently and clearly — 24/7, in plain language, multilingual and with local information.

From passport applications to relocations and opening hours: Gem handles the first contact with care. Gem can make an appointment for you or hand the conversation over to an employee. And you get going quickly with good guidance.

"With Gem we answer frequently asked questions 24/7. That leaves us more time for personal contact and complex issues."

— Ellen Kelders, Business Owner Digitalisation, City of Eindhoven

The benefits of Gem for your municipality

Whether you are a small or a large municipality: less pressure on your organisation and better services for residents.

24/7 and better digital services

Residents get an immediate answer to frequently asked questions.

That creates room to handle complex questions personally, and leads to higher satisfaction among residents and employees alike.

Consistent and reliable information

Gem works with checked answers and does not “make things up”.

That prevents errors and ensures uniform communication. Municipalities can use generic question-and-answer pairs, but also add municipality-specific content.

Proven and secure solution

Developed by and for municipalities, in line with government standards.

With attention to security, privacy, accessibility and quality. Gem has been used successfully for over 5 years at both small and large municipalities.

Smarter together with other municipalities

You benefit from shared knowledge, existing solutions and best practices.

That way you don't have to devise or build everything yourself, or have every expert in house — and together we reach the best result.

Innovation and responsible AI

Gem keeps developing, with people behind the technology.

Based on new technology and the needs of residents and municipalities. Think of applications that improve services further, such as making an appointment.

Where Gem is heading

With support from the Ministry of the Interior and ICTU, Gem is being scaled up further.

How is Gem being scaled up?

As one of the first initiatives, Gem's language models (LLMs) are now hosted in a secure government environment, so that in future Gem can use generative AI responsibly and safely to improve services.

In 2026 we will integrate GPT-NL, the Dutch language model for the public sector, so that Gem can apply generative AI even more responsibly.

The focus is on

  • a safe and scalable use of responsible AI;
  • clear agreements on use and collaboration;
  • the reuse of solutions within government.
How carefully is that done?

Gem is also developing the use of generative AI. This is always done carefully: new features are tested and applied in line with government standards for privacy, security, accessibility and quality.

That way Gem remains both innovative and dependable for municipalities.

Where Gem stands today

  • 27 connected municipalities
  • 2.8 million residents served
  • Over 5 years in production
  • Live within 4 to 6 weeks on average

Connected to Gem

Developments over time

From a single joint proof of concept in 2019 to a growing community of municipalities with a virtual assistant powered by generative AI.

Technology & AICollaborationNew municipalitiesRecognition & fundingMilestone

  1. 2026
  2. 2026★ milestone

    Almelo: first municipality in the east

    Almelo is the first municipality in the east of the country to go live with Gem.

  3. February 2026

    Field trial with GPT-NL

    TNO, ICTU and the Gem municipalities start a field trial with the GPT-NL language model.

  4. January 2026

    Intensive collaboration with ICTU

    The community of Gem municipalities starts an intensive collaboration with ICTU to further develop the new version with generative AI.

  5. 2025
  6. October 2025★ milestone

    Delivery of the gen-AI version

    Delivery of the new version of Gem with generative AI following the innovation grant. Extensive user research at several municipalities is part of the delivery.

  7. June 2025

    Exploration with Mai (Montferland)

    Collaboration between Gem and Mai (Montferland) is explored. It is decided that the two assistants are too far apart in maturity to continue working together at that time.

  8. 2025

    Barneveld and Leiden

    Barneveld and Leiden join Gem.

  9. 2024
  10. October 2024★ milestone

    Construction starts on the new version with generative AI

    Thanks to the contribution from BZK's Innovation Budget, construction starts on the new version of Gem with generative AI.

  11. 2024

    Roermond and Pijnacker-Nootdorp

    Roermond and Pijnacker-Nootdorp take Gem into use.

  12. 2023
  13. 2023

    Eindhoven, Gooise Meren and Amersfoort

    The municipalities of Eindhoven, Gooise Meren and Amersfoort step into the collaboration.

  14. 2022
  15. 2022

    Five new municipalities

    Rotterdam, Heusden, West Betuwe, Velsen and HLT Samen (Hillegom, Lisse, Teylingen) join the collaboration.

  16. 2021
  17. 2021

    Innovation grant from BZK

    The virtual municipal assistant receives an innovation grant from the Ministry of the Interior (BZK) for further development of the assistant.

  18. 2021

    New product: driving licence

    Gem's knowledge of municipal products and services expands, starting with the product 'driving licence'.

  19. 2021

    Roosendaal and Meierijstad join

    The municipalities of Roosendaal and Meierijstad are enthusiastic and step into the collaboration.

  20. July 2021★ milestone

    Gem becomes standard in service delivery

    The results at Tilburg, Drechtsteden (Alblasserdam, Dordrecht, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Sliedrecht and Zwijndrecht) and Utrecht are so positive that the pilot ends and Gem is deployed as a standard part of service delivery.

  21. June 2021

    Finalist at Gemeentedelers

    Virtual municipal assistant Gem is one of the finalists at Gemeentedelers.

  22. 2020
  23. November 2020

    Pilot at Tilburg, Utrecht and Drechtsteden

    Based on the results in Dongen, Tilburg, Utrecht and the newly joined Dienstverlening Drechtsteden switch on Gem as a pilot for themselves, through June 2021.

  24. Summer 2020★ milestone

    Dongen: first pilot with residents

    The municipality of Dongen is the first to run a four-month pilot in which residents can chat with Gem via the website.

  25. Spring 2020

    First tests with colleagues

    The first municipal colleagues get to query Gem.

  26. 2019
  27. Summer 2019

    Moving forward together, open source

    The proof of concept is satisfying and hopeful. Tilburg and Utrecht commit to joint open-source development of Gem for the products moving house and travel documents.

  28. April 2019★ milestone

    Fieldlab VNG — the first chatbot

    The municipalities of Tilburg and Utrecht join forces to build a proof of concept of a first chatbot.

Want to know more about what Gem can do for your services?

Together we'll discover how Gem can add value to your municipality.

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