Austin outlines ChatGPT enterprise pilot, training and legislative preparations as Texas AI bill advances

Daniel Collotta, the City of Austin chief innovation officer, told the Technology Commission on Feb. 5 that the city is running a 100‑license ChatGPT Enterprise pilot across departments and preparing to meet state-level AI requirements.

Collotta said 70 of the licenses are already in routine use and 30 are reserved for a detailed value assessment of how generative AI could change city processes. "The conclusion of this pilot, at the end of the fiscal year, and at checkpoints throughout will provide adoption and implementation guidelines to the city organization," Collotta said. He added the pilot will help the city decide whether to invest in an enterprise instance or in more specialized tools.

Why it matters: Collotta told commissioners that Texas House Bill 1709—sponsored in the Legislature by Representative Capriglione—focuses on so‑called high‑risk AI systems that affect areas including criminal justice, housing, health care and government services. If passed as written, the bill would require impact assessments before deployment, disclosures to residents, vendor risk…