Vienna (OTS) – In the areas of use and knowledge of administrative portals, Austria remains clearly ahead with oesterreich.gv.at. When it comes to satisfaction with the e-government offering, Switzerland, with 78 percent, and Austria, with 75 percent, are ahead of Germany, with 58 percent.
Since 2012, the eGovernment Monitor study has provided a comprehensive overview of the situation regarding the use and acceptance of digital government offers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. According to this year’s results, 80 percent of Austrians are aware of the local federal portal (oesterreich.gv.at), in Switzerland last year it was 68 percent and in Germany 30 percent were aware of the respective national portals. Furthermore, Austria has the highest usage rate of e-government offerings at 70 percent (Switzerland: 60 percent, Germany: 56 percent). And 73 percent of this country’s citizens see digital processing of official transactions as an advantage over the physical route.
“Austria has a clear strategy with the Digital Austria Act:
Convenient, easy and secure access to scanning. The numbers now available show that our e-government services are well received. With the digital skills offensive, we are creating the basis for all citizens to use modern services in the future. “Thanks to digitalization, we are taking administration to where the people are,” says State Secretary Florian Tursky about the new study, according to which 95 percent of Austrian citizens who have used an online government service would like to continue doing so. it online. .
When it comes to using mobile e-government, Austria is at 56 percent overall, ahead of Germany at 54 percent and Switzerland at 53 percent. The Republic is seeing a significant increase in the use of mobile devices via smartphones or tablets of seven percent compared to 2022. And the “Digital Office” app shows relatively consistent increases across all age groups: Last year there was an increase six percent – from 32 to 38 percent – of users in Austria.
E-government and AI
For the first time this year, questions were also asked about the use of “artificial intelligence (AI)” in e-government and the use of “wallets” – mainly used in the form of apps – to store cards, tickets and the like. :
When using AI, the result shows a different picture with high expectations and certain reservations: 56 percent of respondents expect a reduction in the processing time of official procedures through the use of AI. 35% expect a reduction in processing errors and 33% think decisions will become more objective through the use of AI. Currently, 20 percent still reject the use of AI in e-government services. This skepticism can be reduced mainly through more information. The most important factor for acceptance is the question of the final decision, which for 48 percent should be made by people.
“The use of AI in e-government offers enormous opportunities. We already use them in our chatbots at BMF and in “Grants4Companies” on the company’s customer service portal. This makes it easier for us to identify funding gaps or multiple funding. Artificial intelligence brings with it increases in efficiency, better work processes and in-depth data analysis”, explained the Secretary of State for Digitalization, Florian Tursky.
Wallets are still not used by 74 percent of Austrians; the main reason for this, according to 40 percent of respondents, is the lack of need.
For eGovernment Monitor 2023, 1,000 interviews were carried out in Austria and Switzerland; in Germany, 8,000 interviews were carried out.
Questions and contact:
Vincenz Kriegs-Au, MA.
Press spokesman, Secretary of State, Florian Tursky
+43 664 2640821
[email protected]
Federal Ministry of Finance, Press Office
(+43 1) 514 33 501 031
[email protected]
http://www.bmf.gv.at
Johannesgasse 5, 1010 Vienna