Fewer than one-third of Americans currently trust information from the U.S. government according to a survey from Proof Strategies, in part fueling the latest spike in public records requests.
“Citizens, journalists, and different advocacy groups are using public records requests as a solution to get information,” Dan Huizinga, product manager for records request management solutions at Granicus, said in a recent GovTech webinar focused on the future of government public records.
Huizinga was joined during the webinar by Melanie Pusateri, product marketing manager, and Sean McSpaden from the Center for Digital Government.
“Distrust fuels scrutiny and motivates people to seek raw data for their own analysis to validate information and challenge official narratives,” Huizinga said. High-profile events, such as election controversies or public safety incidents, also trigger spikes in requests that can last for months or even years, often extending beyond the local jurisdiction where the event occurred.
This comes as part of a continuing storm of public records requests: In the last eight years, the volume of requests has nearly tripled while nearly doubling in complexity. For example, the file size of requests has increased 480% since 2018.
“Agencies are not just getting more requests; they are getting requests that are significantly harder to fulfill,” Huizinga said.
Keeping up with the times
Public records requests have evolved from routine administrative tasks into a defining challenge for government agencies. The sheer volume and complexity of records can be overwhelming, making it difficult to manage without modern tools and approaches. Public sector leaders are navigating a landscape where they are drowning in both structured and unstructured information.
As agencies struggle, the public waits.
"We live in an on-demand world ... and we all expect the government to match that immediacy,” Pusateri said. “When residents can track a package in real-time but have to wait weeks for a records request, the process feels outdated.”
Increased digital literacy and civic engagement also play a role. The public is more informed than ever about their right to access records, and advocacy groups leverage social media to hold agencies accountable. “Every delay or denial can … become a headline or clickbait,” Pusateri said. “This heightened visibility means the pressure for speed and openness is continually climbing.”
Evolving legal and technical realities
The legal landscape is also in constant flux. New legislation and court rulings redefine what constitutes a public record and what is exempt from disclosure. These changes not only add complexity to the review process but can also unlock entire sets of previously protected records, creating new waves of requests. As Huizinga explained, this “adds a new level of complexity … especially different exemptions.”
New record formats present another significant technical challenge. Requests are no longer limited to simple PDFs. Agencies now handle body camera and drone footage, massive email archives, and even data from doorbell cameras. Each format requires specialized handling and redaction processes. Huizinga highlighted that managing these formats, including “thousands and thousands of messages with attachments that have to be sorted,” is incredibly labor-intensive.
The emergence of artificial intelligence adds another layer. Requestors use AI to generate highly detailed, complex requests quickly, while agencies must grapple with archiving AI-generated content and its associated metadata. Legislation has struggled to keep up, Huizinga said, creating a wealth of gray areas that government organizations often struggle to interpret.
Turning complexity into opportunity in public records
While the challenges are significant, they also create an opportunity for innovation. By embracing modern technology, agencies can transform their records management processes from a source of strain into an operational advantage.
To adapt, agencies must move away from manual, inbox-driven processes toward centralized and automated workflows. Pusateri suggested that “online portals for request submission, real time status updates… that’s closer to what we feel in the modern world.” Proactive disclosure of frequently requested records is another key strategy. By publishing information related to high-profile events, agencies can serve the public more effectively while reducing the strain on staff who would otherwise be answering individual requests.
“The goal isn’t really just compliance anymore,” Pusateri concluded. “It’s really meeting people where they are in this digital world.”
The role of automation and AI
For agencies without a dedicated solution, the technical challenges are often fundamental, including tracking deadlines and coordinating across departments. For those with more advanced systems, the complexity of the records themselves remains a primary hurdle.
This is where automation and AI can provide immense value. As Pusateri explained, doing these processes manually is “a recipe for burnout and compliance risk.” Automated workflows serve as the backbone of a modern technology solution, moving routine tasks along and ensuring requests do not get stuck, causing missed deadlines. According to Pusateri, “agencies that are using automated workflows can cut processing times by 30% to 60% or more.”
AI-driven tools offer further efficiencies. Predictive deflection uses AI to analyze incoming requests and identify if they have been answered previously. It then presents the existing records to the requester. “The easiest request to answer is the one you don’t get,” Pusateri said. This self-service model reduces staff workload and provides immediate answers.
For video redaction, AI tools can automate the laborious process of identifying and blurring faces, license plates, and other sensitive information. This saves a tremendous amount of time compared to a manual, frame-by-frame review.
Critically, these tools are designed to augment human capabilities, not replace them. Huizinga emphasized the importance of keeping a human in the loop and that AI be used “for suggestions, for guidance, not for final decision making.”
The road ahead: A proactive strategy
Looking to the future, the agencies that thrive will be those that adopt a proactive strategy. Huizinga advises using today’s challenges as the spark to find smarter solutions.
This involves several key elements:
- Flexible workflows: Incorporate workflows that can easily adapt to evolving compliance rules and request types.
- Smart automation: Move beyond basic digitization to embrace automation and AI that augments human expertise while keeping risk low.
- Data-driven insights: Use analytics to spot trends, identify bottlenecks, and continuously adjust processes.
- Proactive disclosure: Make proactive disclosure a core strategy by preparing records ahead of time and publishing those that are routinely requested.
By taking these steps, agencies can build resilience, increase transparency, and ultimately strengthen citizen trust in government.
