Gray Communications Director Kyle Hadyniak recently spoke about how Gray has been implementing generative AI into town functions. Hadyniak said he has been cognizant of trends in AI research and development since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, and has been captivated by the technology ever since.

Hadyniak described Gray as a “Microsoft shop,” with all of the town’s online functions using the Microsoft 360 suite of applications. He said Gray has opted to have Microsoft’s AI companion, Copilot, built into its applications. He that he started using Copilot last year, and later recommended it to other staff members.

Hadyniak said that, as of now, there are three staff members with a Copilot license, and there would probably be more had Gray’s budget passed in the June referendum. During the referendum, the fiscal year 2026 municipal budget was voted down and an in-person town meeting will be held to discuss a revised budget proposal on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

One major way that Hadyniak said that AI technology has made his job easier is allowing him to create meeting recap articles easier. Since all town government meetings are recorded on Microsoft Teams, which has Copilot built in, he is able to generate a bullet-point summary of what happened, who said what, and when they said it. From there, he can take the AI-generated summary, look it over to ensure accuracy, and then turn out an article about the meeting in far less time than it would have if he did not have access to Copilot.

Regarding concerns over the use of AI in critical municipal functions, Hadyniak said Gray has developed a policy for safe and responsible AI use. He has given a training to staff members about how to use Copilot and the capabilities it can bring to the table, so that when they do get the license, they can use it effectively and efficiently.

He also made it clear that AI would not be replacing any human workers at the town offices.

“AI should definitely be an assistant,” said Hadyniak. “In that way, Copilot is pretty well named, because it’s not designed to pilot, it’s designed to be the copilot.”

In recent weeks, Hadyniak has been focused on educating the general public about how AI can be used safely to make municipal government more effective. He has appeared on two podcasts, the Greater Portland Council of Governments’ “Let’s Connect” and the Maine Municipal Association’s “Potholes and Politics.” He will host a presentation of generative AI at Gray Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

When asked if Gray was the first town in the Lakes Region to implement generative AI at such a scale, Hadyniak said he had spoken to officials from other towns, and while most of them were aware of how to use AI tools, he could not speak to whether any of them were using them in municipal functions.

Hadyniak also mentioned that there are several municipalities in Maine that have fewer than 10 full-time staff members, and that it would be beneficial for them to have an AI tool to help offload smaller tasks.

In separate interviews with Lakes Region Now, Windham Communications Director Roger Cropley said that he has used AI to summarize survey questions and meeting notes, while Casco Communications Director Allison Griffin said that her department had not made use of the technology.

New Gloucester interim Town Manager Sharlene Myers gave no comment, and other town representatives could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.