Bringing AI to Government with Alex Millar, Co-Founder @ GovAI, formerly Bonfire

Are you more comfortable asking your colleagues a question, or ChatGPT? GovAI found that people preferred using AI over connecting with each other to ask questions. They liked the ease, speed, and anonymity compared to asking each other.

In this episode, Daniel sat down with Alex Millar, co-founder of GovAI and former co-founder of Bonfire, which he scaled and sold for $108M after working with hundreds of public sector teams. Now he’s building AI tools for a sector known for strict requirements and slow adoption—by focusing on usage first, and letting that usage show the path to revenue.

🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

📌 For Founders & Product Builders:

• ✅ Why starting with free usage—before charging—can unlock adoption in high-trust environments
• ✅ How failed queries can reveal what to build next, and which features your users are asking for without saying it
• ✅ What it looks like to serve a niche so well that pricing, onboarding, and training become part of the product

📌 For Business Leaders Adopting AI:

• ✅ Why a flat-fee pricing model works better than per-seat licenses in the public sector
• ✅ Why you should put humans in the loop as a resource the AI can recommend, not just an override for edge cases
• ✅ How to roll out AI tools with training and change management—not just logins

🔗 Resources & Links

• 👨🏻‍🦲 Connect with Alex!
• 🌐 Learn more about GovAI
• 📩 Subscribe to the Artificial Insights newsletter for episode summaries and founder takeaways

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