Anthropic and State of Maryland Partnership for Government Services

The State of Maryland has partnered with Anthropic to integrate Claude AI models into state government operations to improve service delivery for its six million residents. This partnership aims to increase the efficiency of benefit distribution, reduce administrative burdens on caseworkers, and identify unmet community needs.

Streamlining Resident Access to Essential Benefits

Maryland is deploying a Claude-powered virtual assistant to help residents apply for essential benefits programs, including Medicaid, SNAP, temporary cash assistance, and WIC. Beyond simplifying the application process, the tool is designed to identify additional programs for which residents may be eligible, ensuring families receive all available support.

Enhancing Caseworker Efficiency and Document Processing

State caseworkers will use Claude to accelerate the verification of more than 150,000 documents processed manually each month. The AI will assist in validating eligibility and providing policy guidance for complex cases, allowing caseworkers to deliver support to residents more quickly and accurately.

Economic Upskilling and Community Resource Analysis

Maryland is implementing two primary initiatives to support economic and community growth:

• AI Upskilling Pilot: An AI training program for early-career professionals within Maryland's "lighthouse" industries to align with state economic priorities.
• Community Needs Tool: Developed in collaboration with the Governor's Innovation Team, this tool uses Claude to identify unmet market needs—such as childcare and fresh food—and provides local leaders with the data and analysis required to address these gaps.

Proven Implementation and Governance

This partnership expands on a previous successful implementation in June, where a bilingual Claude-powered chatbot was launched to assist over 600,000 Marylanders receiving SUN Bucks benefits, which resulted in a reduced call center volume.

To ensure the responsible deployment of AI in government, the partnership is guided by Maryland's AI governance principles and Anthropic's safety testing protocols. The development of these programs involved collaboration between Anthropic, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Percepta, intended to serve as a scalable model for other state governments across the United States.