I'm David Poyser, a journalist. Welcome to the 24th episode of PezPod, the insiders going to the European Network of Public Employment Services.

That's Pez Network for short.

In this episode, we'll explore the fascinating world of artificial intelligence, or AI.

As AI technologies evolve, it's a timely moment to explore how PEZ can use this to enhance service delivery,

improve operational efficiency, and ultimately better served job seekers and employers.

We'll also consider practical examples of AI in action alongside key learnings and best practices

that PEZ can adopt when designing and

implementing AI. Today I'm joined by thematic expert Dr. Villan Peterson, who led the recently

published PEZ Network Report, Opportunities of AI within PEZ processes and services, exploring

PEZ experiences, best practices and emerging business value.

He'll be sharing insights from the report, as well as some of his own personal reflections on AI and public employment services.

Hello, Willem.

Good morning.

I'm also joined by Andreas Henningson, senior strategist and Product Area Manager for AI and Data at

Arbites for Menlingen, the Swedish Pez. They're utilising AI an interesting ways to match job

seekers with vacancies they might not have previously considered. Welcome to Pezpod, Andreas.

Thanks. The pleasure to be here. So firstly, Willem, how would you describe the current state of

AI adoption across public employment services in the EU? So the current state of AI adoption is

fairly low. I mean, pairs are playing with AI, pairs are experimenting with AI, but not that many

pairs have that many types of AI in their production, so to facilitate,

you know, jobseek or job searches and supporting counselors' work.

However, what we're seeing is that there's a lot of enthusiasm, and there's a lot of paths that

...