BEACON initiative will provide a shared artificial intelligence platform as Oklahoma begins expanding AI tools across state agencies.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma officials on Friday launched a statewide artificial intelligence platform designed to help agencies streamline operations, improve customer service and develop AI-powered tools using a shared, secure technology framework.
The platform, known as BEACON, is intended to provide a common foundation for more than 125 state agencies, boards and commissions supported by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services’ Information Services division. State officials said the platform is designed to reduce duplication across government by allowing agencies to build AI applications on a shared system with standardized security, governance and data practices.
The launch follows the appointment of Oklahoma’s first Chief AI and Technology Officer, Tai Phan, who is leading the state’s efforts to expand artificial intelligence across state government. According to OMES, the state is moving beyond individual pilot projects toward enterprise-scale AI solutions that agencies can share and adapt to their own needs.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said the initiative supports Oklahoma’s broader effort to modernize government services.
“Oklahoma is committed to being a top ten state for business, and that means using the best tools available,” Stitt said. “We are equipping our agencies to work smarter, deliver results faster and serve Oklahomans more effectively.”
The first projects developed through BEACON are two “lighthouse applications” currently in beta testing.
One is an AI-powered tool that helps policymakers and state employees review administrative rules, identify opportunities to simplify regulations and support efforts to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on citizens and businesses.
The second, called the Procurement Guidance Assistant, provides state employees with real-time guidance on purchasing policies and procedures to improve consistency and compliance in state procurement.
According to information released with the platform’s launch, BEACON is also designed to support AI-assisted research across statutes, administrative rules, policies and agency knowledge, along with data analytics, decision-support tools and conversational service assistants that can integrate with existing state systems. State officials said the platform includes built-in security, governance, accessibility and auditing standards intended to support responsible AI adoption across government.
State Chief Information Officer Dan Cronin said the platform gives agencies a consistent framework for deploying artificial intelligence while modernizing state government.
“Modernization is not optional,” Cronin said. “We are building a more agile state government and setting a standard for the nation. BEACON gives Oklahoma agencies the guardrails and the horsepower they need to deploy cutting-edge technology responsibly, efficiently and at scale.”
Officials said additional AI applications are expected to be developed through the BEACON platform, although they did not announce a timeline for future deployments or identify which agencies will be next to implement the technology.
