Oklahoma debuts internal AI platform with two ‘lighthouse’ tools for legislators, procurement

Oklahoma’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services on Friday announced the debut of BEACON, an enterprise artificial intelligence platform designed to help state agencies build new tools.

The shared platform is intended to support employees in their daily work, but also to give agencies a common, scalable framework for developing AI-powered tools that improve efficiency, strengthen customer service and deliver a better government experience for residents. It’s intended to reduce duplication across agencies, and BEACON, the state said in a news release, also includes built-in security, governance and data standards.

There are already two AI tools that have been developed through BEACON, known as “lighthouse applications,” that are in beta testing, according to the state’s announcement. These projects, according to the news release, were selected for being high impact, and designed to demonstrate how AI can address real government challenges while establishing reusable models for future innovation. One is an administrative rules modernization tool that helps policymakers and state employees review administrative rules with AI to identify opportunities for simplification, and the other is a procurement guidance assistant tool that that provides state employees with real-time guidance on purchasing policies and procedures.

The launch of BEACON’s comes about eight months after the the appointment of Tai Phan, Oklahoma’s first chief AI and technology officer. He has helped th Office of Management and Enterprise Services shift from working on individual pilot projects to launching enterprise-scale solutions that can be used across the state’s more than 125 agencies, boards and commissions.

The work also builds on Oklahoma’s Accountable Innovation operating model, which is part of the state’s AI governance structure and part of Phan’s responsibility of making human oversight and measurable public value central to the adoption and scaling of new AI technologies.

“Through BEACON, agencies can rapidly build and deploy AI solutions on a secure, governed platform rather than starting from scratch. The platform enables mission-specific innovation while creating reusable capabilities that scale across state government,” Phan said in the announcement. “These initial lighthouse applications demonstrate how BEACON can deliver measurable results today and establish a foundation for sustainable AI adoption.”