Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the (i) use; and (ii) development, by (a) her Department; and (b) its arm’s-length bodies, of Artificial Intelligence products.
Minister for the Economy: (a) My Department has successfully completed a structured 12-week trial of Microsoft Copilot within Microsoft 365. This pilot focused on practical applications such as document summarisation, drafting, and data analysis.
Following the successful pilot, the Department is progressing plans for a phased rollout of Copilot across all business areas to embed AI-driven productivity tools.
The rollout will ensure staff have access to training and support.
My Department is actively supporting AI development through strategic investments and partnerships. In collaboration with Invest NI, we launched the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC), a £16.3 million initiative delivered by Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University.
The AICC is providing support to SMEs through its Business Transformer Programme to drive AI adoption and awareness.
(b) The main Artificial Intelligence software product used by our arm’s length bodies is Microsoft Copilot.
Further Education colleges also use education-focused platforms. As of October 2025, the FE colleges have endorsed the use of LearnWise (to deliver personalised support for students) and TeacherMatic (to improve efficiency for educators). In addition, the FE Colleges are reviewing a range of AI products including Notebook LM (a research and writing assistant from Google).
The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) is working in partnership with the Ulster University and Talk Terms to develop a Holiday Pay tool using AI technologies.
ENDS
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