Ukraine has launched its first government service using artificial intelligence for automatic preliminary document verification. The pilot project involves the procedure for obtaining a veterinary licence in the ePermit system, a government platform for submitting and processing applications for obtaining and changing permits and licences.
From now on, when an entrepreneur submits an application through the Diia portal, the AI module in ePermit automatically checks whether there are any discrepancies in the documents and data provided by the applicant and whether the information meets the established requirements. This check speeds up decision-making, and experts have more time to process cases that really need their attention.
«We are building a state that does not simply digitise paperwork, but changes the very logic of interaction with people. The AI module in licences is an example of how technology can work for the benefit of citizens while keeping data within the country», said Mykhailo Fedorov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
According to Oleksii Sobolev, Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, this technology gives more time for what is really important: «For business, it means less bureaucracy and a quicker start; for the state, it means higher quality decisions and fewer mistakes.»
«In the public sector, there are tasks that no one wants to do and no one has to do manually, but they have a critical impact on the outcome. The AI module takes on this layer of work and allows experts to make decisions faster and with more confidence», emphasised Oleksandr Tsybort, Deputy Minister of Economy for Digital Development.
During development, the system was adapted to work with documents of varying quality, including handwritten records. Since real data cannot be used to train models, the developers applied a hybrid approach — using open models, synthetic data, and adaptive algorithms developed specifically for the needs of the public sector.
The launch of the AI module in veterinary licensing is only the first stage. In the future, the technology is planned to be scaled to other types of licences and licensing procedures.
The project was implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Google DeepMind, and with financial support from the European Union within the EU4DigitalUA project implemented by FIAP. Product development was coordinated by the BRDO Office for Effective Regulation.
Support for the project is also provided by DT4UA, which is implementing the E-Governance Academy.
Consulting support for the development of regulatory acts for the system was provided by the EU4Business: SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project, implemented by Ecorys in consortium with GIZ, BRDO and Civitta and funded by the European Union in Ukraine.