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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant concept for public institutions. For business registry authorities, it is becoming a vital part of how governments can remain agile, trusted, and responsive in an increasingly digital world. As registry authorities seek to modernize, AI is emerging as both an opportunity and a necessity.
According to the European Commission’s AI Watch, more than a third of public-sector AI use cases are already implemented and used in daily operations. And yet, the speed of adoption varies widely. While some institutions are leading with fully integrated AI systems, many others still face infrastructure, regulatory, or capacity-related barriers.
Why AI Matters for Business Registries
Business registries are foundational institutions. They are responsible for ensuring transparency, safeguarding legal identity, enabling private sector activity, and upholding trust. Their role is growing more complex: modern registries must handle large volumes of structured and unstructured data, identify suspicious activity, and deliver user-centric services with speed and precision.
AI technologies – such as natural language processing, document recognition, machine learning, and large language models (LLMs) – offer powerful tools for addressing these challenges. But the core question for registry leaders is no longer “Should we use AI?” It’s “How do we use it well, and where does it make the biggest impact?”
Practical Applications Already in Use
At recent European Business Registry Association (EBRA) 2025 conference in June, registry authorities shared real-world examples of how AI is already improving public services:
- Economic Activity Classification: AI models can automatically suggest NACE/ATECO codes based on free-text company descriptions. With accuracy levels reaching up to 90%, this reduces manual errors and accelerates registration.
- Document Typing and Metadata Extraction: Hybrid AI systems combining visual and text recognition now identify document types and extract key information – such as expiration dates or legal representative roles – with high reliability.
- Form Error Detection: AI tools analyze support requests and user interactions to detect frequent errors in form submissions, helping registries improve UX and reduce rework.
- Company Name Similarity Checks: AI-powered models assess semantic and phonetic similarity of proposed names, flagging potential conflicts earlier in the process.
- AI-Supported Case Reviews: Machine learning can assist in pre-validating submissions and highlighting anomalies, enabling human analysts to focus on high-risk or legally complex cases.
- Anonymization of Financial Disclosures: AI models using natural language processing, optical character recognition (OCR), and layout analysis are employed to redact sensitive personal data from annual reports. Combined with human oversight, this multi-stage process improves accuracy and ensures compliance with EU data protection rules, while in-house deployment supports institutional control and data sovereignty.
Each of these use cases demonstrates not only efficiency gains, but also improved consistency, compliance, and user satisfaction.
Key Challenges Registries Must Navigate
Despite proven benefits, integrating AI into registry operations is not without obstacles:
- Infrastructure and Data Protection: Under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), public institutions face strict limits on how data can be stored and processed – especially when using public cloud services. This often requires registries to develop and maintain their own secure AI infrastructure, which can be costly and resource intensive.
- Talent Shortages: Recruiting and retaining skilled AI engineers, data scientists, and system architects remain a significant challenge for the public sector, particularly outside major cities or in emerging economies.
- Institutional Readiness: AI adoption requires more than new tools. It demands cultural and procedural change. Without clear policies, cross-functional coordination, and governance mechanisms in place, even well-designed AI solutions may struggle to scale or deliver consistent public value.
These challenges are real – but not insurmountable. With the right planning and investment, registries can build the institutional resilience needed to adopt AI safely and effectively.
Insights from NRD Companies: What Works
From NRD Companies experience supporting registries across Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and beyond, three insights consistently emerge:
- Start with Clear Priorities: AI should support defined institutional goals – not the other way around. Whether it’s reducing backlogs, increasing compliance, or improving data quality, clarity drives value.
- Build Internal Capability: Institutions that invest in AI literacy for their staff – not just IT teams – see stronger results. A registry team that understands what AI can (and can’t) do is more equipped to scale it responsibly.
- Use Modular, Explainable Tools: AI doesn’t need to be one big system. Many successful projects begin with a single use case, using modular tools that can be explained, audited, and improved over time.
Recommendations for Registry Authorities
To unlock AI’s full potential, registry leaders are encouraged to:
- Conduct an AI readiness assessment, covering infrastructure, data quality, legal frameworks, and workforce skills.
- Engage with peer institutions to share lessons and co-develop AI components, especially for high-impact use cases like company name verification or document extraction.
- Integrate AI governance into institutional strategy, ensuring systems comply with the EU AI Act and remain auditable, transparent, and under human oversight.
- Invest in cross-functional teams, combining legal, technical, and policy expertise to guide AI adoption from design to deployment.
The Road Ahead: Collaborative, Ethical, Strategic
AI is not a silver bullet – but it is a transformative tool. For business registries, the role of AI is increasingly clear: enhancing performance, reinforcing public trust, and enabling institutions to meet growing demands with limited resources.
Registries should not only adopt AI – but shape it. Through ethical design, collaborative development, and strategic use, AI can empower these institutions to not just adapt to the digital age, but to lead it.
Ready to turn AI’s potential into real results for your registry?
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