AI use among first responders has nearly tripled

The sixth annual Verizon Frontline Public Safety Communications Survey, conducted by Lexipol Media Group on behalf of Verizon Frontline, reveals a rapid year-over-year acceleration in the daily use of artificial intelligence (AI), drones and robots.

Lexipol Media Group surveyed over 1000 US public safety professionals to understand their current challenges, priorities and expectations for the future of mission-critical communications, with the results offering an insight into how first responders view the technology that shapes their work. The work suggests that the future of public safety has arrived, with agencies increasingly leveraging data-driven tools to augment human intuition and help improve response outcomes. This is in contrast with previous years, which saw first responders debate the role of AI and drones in public safety operations.

According to the 2026 findings:

• Daily use of AI by public safety personnel on the job has almost tripled compared to 2025, reaching nearly 32%. A majority of agencies (56%) now anticipate daily AI use within three years, viewing it as a critical decision-support tool.
• Daily use of drones and robots has climbed to 26%, marking a significant jump from last year (15%). Agencies are increasingly deploying these systems to navigate hazardous environments, keeping human responders out of harm’s way while providing real-time situational awareness.
• As agencies integrate these technologies, the demand for network reliability and resilience remains strong. Over 77% of respondents cite ‘resilience and reliability’ as the primary operational requirement for their success.
   

Rob Lloyd, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government and Center for Public Sector AI, said the former’s research and benchmarking with state and local government partners shows that, for public safety, technology decisions have to start with the mission.

“Handling community safety and emergency events effectively is no accident,” he said. “That is why, when evaluating advanced technology, agencies are looking at whether a tool can provide better information, improve situational awareness, and help teams respond faster, all while keeping first responders safer.”

And so, as departments shift from reactive to predictive postures, the integration of AI-powered analytics and connected vehicles, for example, is becoming essential. However, the survey indicates that these powerful tools are only as effective as the network that supports them — for as agencies continue to move toward more technologically complex operations, the reliability of the network remains the single most vital factor in daily and emergency communications, ahead of speed or raw bandwidth. This extends to choice in personal devices as well, as roughly 49% of respondents said network reliability influences their decision most when selecting a plan for their personal devices.

Kim Mirabella, Vice President of Verizon Public Sector and Verizon Frontline, concluded, “The 2026 findings reveal that the future of public safety isn’t something on the horizon; it’s already here. Technologies that felt like science fiction just a few years ago, from AI to robotics, are now essential tools our nation’s first responders rely on every day.”

For further details on the survey results, visit https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-frontline-2026-public-safety-communications-survey.

Image credit: iStock.com/gorodenkoff