AI in Government Records Management and Archives

Government agencies increasingly use AI to search correspondence, transcribe meetings, classify documents, summarize public comments, and support internal analysis. Records management asks what materials document agency organization, decisions, procedures, transactions, or other official activity, and how they must be maintained or disposed of. It is not the same question as whether a model is ethical, secure, or accurate. The National Archives and Records Administration’s 2026 guidance addresses how the Federal Records Act applies to existing AI uses, including inputs, outputs, data, audit trails, software, and other AI materials. The guidance states that disposal of federal records requires an applicable NARA-approved records schedule. That federal guidance does not automatically govern state, local, tribal, or foreign agencies. They may have separate records statutes, archives rules, public-records laws, litigation holds, and retention schedules. Even within one agency, a model prompt may be transitory in one use and part of the record in another. A prompt and output that document the basis for an official decision may need preservation; a routine query that does not document agency business may be treated differently under the applicable schedule. The records officer and agency counsel should assess purpose, content, and context rather than applying a blanket rule. AI can complicate retrieval and access. A classifier may mislabel a record, a summarizer may omit a dissenting comment, and OCR can fail on handwriting or poor scans. A public-records response still requires review of the records themselves, applicable exemptions, and required redactions. A system’s summary is not a substitute for the underlying correspondence. Agencies should document source collections, model versions, changes to classification rules, and human corrections so they can explain what was searched and identify gaps. Procurement and deployment also matter. Agencies should know where records and logs are stored, who can access them, whether vendors retain data, and how records can be exported in usable form.