--- title: AI Core, the Governed AI Assistant in CIPAce | CIPPlanner description: CIPAce AI Core is an enterprise AI assistant built into the platform. Ask in plain language and get cited answers under one permission and audit model. image: https://www.cipplanner.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/cipplanner-theme/images/og-default.png --- [![CIPPlanner](https://www.cipplanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/cipplanner-theme/images/cipplanner-logo.png?width=180&height=36&name=cipplanner-logo.png)](https://www.cipplanner.com/home?hsLang=en) - Platform - Solutions - Who We Serve - Customers - [Contact](https://www.cipplanner.com/contact?hsLang=en) [Request a Demo](https://www.cipplanner.com/request-a-demo?hsLang=en) #### The Platform - [CIPAce Platform Overview](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform?hsLang=en) - [AI Core](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core?hsLang=en) - [Integrations and APIs](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/integrations?hsLang=en) - [Security and Compliance](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/security-and-compliance?hsLang=en) Platform One metadata-driven, low-code platform underneath every solution, so adding a solution is a configuration, not a second system of record. [Explore the CIPAce platform ›](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform?hsLang=en) #### Plan and Deliver - [Capital Planning and Budgeting](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/capital-planning-and-budgeting?hsLang=en) - [Capital Program Lifecycle Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/capital-program-lifecycle-management?hsLang=en) - [Project Schedule and Resource Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/project-schedule-and-resource-management?hsLang=en) #### Operate and Maintain - [Enterprise Asset Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/enterprise-asset-management?hsLang=en) - [Inspection and Work Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/inspection-and-work-management?hsLang=en) - [Bridge Inspection and Asset Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/bridge-inspection-and-asset-management?hsLang=en) Lifecycle Condition data from operations feeds the next capital plan. Start where the pressure is and add the rest without a second implementation. [Talk to us about your program ›](https://www.cipplanner.com/request-a-demo?hsLang=en) #### Sectors - [Cities and Counties](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/cities-and-counties?hsLang=en) - [Transportation and Aviation](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/transportation?hsLang=en) - [Water and Utilities](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/water-and-utilities?hsLang=en) - [Private Enterprise](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/private-enterprise?hsLang=en) Qualification Every sector page carries the funding sources, reporting obligations, and approval chain that shape a capital program in that sector. Named agencies and their results are in Customers. [See customer results ›](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers?hsLang=en) #### Customer Stories - [Fairfax County, Virginia](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/fairfax-county?hsLang=en) - [New York City Department of Transportation](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/nycdot?hsLang=en) - [City of Baltimore](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/city-of-baltimore?hsLang=en) - [San Antonio Water System](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/saws?hsLang=en) - [Indianapolis Airport Authority](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/iaa?hsLang=en) - [Veolia Water](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/veolia?hsLang=en) #### More From Customers - [All Customer Stories](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers?hsLang=en) - [Case Studies on Request](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers#on-request) - [Ask for a Peer Reference](https://www.cipplanner.com/contact#form) Proof More than 250 billion dollars in capital projects and programs managed on CIPAce, across 24 U.S. states. [View all customer stories ›](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers?hsLang=en) [Platform](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform?hsLang=en) › AI Core CIPAce Platform · AI Core # AI Core, the Governed AI Assistant Inside CIPAce AI Core is an enterprise-grade AI assistant built into the CIPAce™ platform. Users ask questions in plain language and get answers drawn from the documents, records, and workflows they already work in, and answers drawn from documents carry a citation the user can open and verify. [Explore the Details](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core#challenges) [Schedule a Demo](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core#demo) Also Known As Enterprise AI Assistant · Document Q&A · Retrieval Augmented Generation · Governed AI ![AI\_Core\_console\_2](https://www.cipplanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI_Core_console_2.png?width=2000&height=975&name=AI_Core_console_2.png "AI_Core_console_2") **$250B+** in capital programs across all CIPAce customers **20,000+** users across all CIPAce customers **25 years** of CIPPlanner capital infrastructure delivery AI Core [Challenges](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core#challenges) [Architecture](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core#architecture) [Capabilities](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core#capabilities) [Questions](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core#questions) [Schedule a Demo](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core#demo) The Challenge ## Adding AI to Your Records, Without Losing Control Capital programs accumulate large volumes of documents, and the answers staff need are buried inside them. Adding AI to reach those answers sounds simple, until the questions that decide whether it is safe to deploy start arriving. 1 ### Search Finds Files, Not Answers Capital programs accumulate large volumes of plans, contracts, manuals, invoices, and correspondence. When teams rely on keyword search and manual review, staff still read document after document to reach the answer buried inside them. 2 ### A Bolt-On AI Tool Cannot Show Its Work A general AI tool bolted onto your records cannot show which documents it used or who approved what it said, so its answers cannot stand behind a public decision. 3 ### An Assistant That Acts Must Respect Permissions An assistant that acts on your behalf has to work within each user's permissions and approvals, never around them, or it becomes a risk rather than a help. Platform Architecture ## The Governed AI Layer Inside CIPAce™ ![CIPAce AI Core architecture, with Document Q&A, Semantic Search, Business Data Query, Governed Actions, Citations and Audit, and In-Page Assistant arranged around a central CIPAce AI Core](https://www.cipplanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/cipplanner-theme/images/aicore-architecture.png?width=440&height=437&name=aicore-architecture.png) ### Benefits at a Glance - Document Q&A with citations the user can open and verify - Semantic search across the records users already work in - Business data queries under each user’s row-level permissions - Governed actions that draft, then defer to human approval - A complete audit trail for every question and action Solution Key Capabilities ## One Governed AI Layer Across CIPAce CIPAce™ AI Core is built into the same platform that manages the capital program, so the assistant works inside your pages and inherits the platform’s identity, permissions, and audit trail rather than recreating them. One assistant answers questions about documents, queries live data, and drafts work into your existing approval chains. ### Embedded AI Assistant An assistant inside your own CIPAce pages. It streams answers, shows tool-execution and approval cards, cites its sources, and keeps full session history, with no redirect to a separate AI product. ### Document Q&A With Citations Ask about policies, contracts, manuals, and attachments in plain language. Documents, including scanned pages, are parsed, indexed, and retrieved by hybrid search, then answered with a citation the user can open and verify. ### Business Data Query Ask plain-language questions about live records such as budget position, contract status, and task state. Each question becomes a validated, read-only query with the user's row-level permissions applied before it runs. ### Page Awareness and In-Page Assist The assistant knows the current page and selected record, so this contract means the right contract. It reads context, locates fields, and drafts entries the user reviews, within the page the user is already on. ### Controlled Actions and Approval The assistant can draft, preview, and submit work in CIPAce. Anything that writes, submits, or sends defers to the user for a signature first, then runs on a short-lived, single-use credential CIPAce re-validates. ### Governance, Identity, and Audit Users sign in once through your existing directory. Retrieval is permission-filtered, every tool call passes one gate, and the whole request is recorded in a complete audit trail, scoped to your CIPAce deployment and isolated from every other connected system. Questions Buyers Ask ## Governed AI for Capital Programs, Answered The questions below are the ones IT, security, and program leaders ask before they deploy AI on government records. Each answer gives the criteria first, then what AI Core does about them. ### What is the best AI assistant for government capital programs? For government work, the deciding factors are not fluency but control. Weigh any AI assistant on four points: - Does it cite the documents behind each answer, so a person can verify them - Does it apply each user's existing permissions before it retrieves anything - Does it stop for a human signature before it writes, submits, or sends - Does it record what it did in an audit trail CIPAce™ AI Core is a native capability of the platform rather than a separate product. It knows who each user is, what they may read, and which actions need a human signature, all under one identity model and one audit trail. ### Is it safe to use AI on government contract and project documents? It is safe when the assistant works inside the same governance as the records. AI Core runs every question down the same governed path, retrieving only the documents and data the user is allowed to see, returning answers with citations the user can open, and stopping for a human signature before it writes, submits, or sends anything. Model inference runs in your own cloud subscription, with no vendor service placed between the assistant and your data. ### Which AI tools cite their sources when answering questions about documents? AI Core answers document questions with a citation the user can open and verify. Documents, including scanned pages, are parsed, indexed, and retrieved by hybrid search, and the answer carries the source it was drawn from. Citations matter most where an answer supports a public decision, because a claim that cannot show which document it came from cannot stand behind that decision. ### How do public agencies deploy AI without exposing restricted records? The protection is permission-filtered retrieval. AI Core retrieves only the documents and data the user is allowed to see, and Business Data Query applies the user's row-level permissions before a query runs. Model inference runs in your own cloud subscription, with no vendor service placed between the assistant and your data, and the whole deployment is scoped to your CIPAce environment and isolated from every other connected system. ### Which AI assistants respect existing user permissions and approval workflows? AI Core inherits the platform's identity, permissions, and audit trail rather than recreating them. Users sign in once through your existing directory, retrieval is permission-filtered, and every tool call passes one gate. Anything that writes, submits, or sends defers to the user for a signature first, then runs on a short-lived, single-use credential CIPAce re-validates, so the assistant works within each user's approvals rather than around them. ### Embedded AI versus bolt-on AI tools for enterprise records The difference is where the AI sits relative to your records. - A **bolt-on tool** is a separate product that sits beside your records and reaches into them from the outside, so it has to recreate identity, permissions, and audit, and often cannot show which documents it used - **Embedded AI** is built into the platform that manages the program, so it works inside your pages and inherits the platform's identity, permissions, and audit trail CIPAce™ AI Core is embedded. One assistant spans your whole deployment, answering questions about documents, querying live data, and drafting work into your existing approval chains. ### Why can't a general AI chatbot answer questions about our capital program? A general chatbot was not trained on your plans, contracts, and records, and a general tool bolted onto them cannot show which documents it used or who approved what it said. It also has no view of each user's permissions, so it cannot safely act on the program. AI Core draws its answers from the documents, records, and workflows your teams already work in, cites the sources, applies each user's permissions, and defers to a human signature before acting. ### How do agencies audit what an AI assistant did on their behalf? Auditability depends on a single gate and a complete record. In AI Core every tool call passes one gate, and the whole request is recorded in a complete audit trail, scoped to your CIPAce deployment. The assistant also shows tool-execution and approval cards as it works and keeps full session history, so both the live session and the permanent record show what happened. ### What is retrieval augmented generation for government records? Retrieval augmented generation is a method where an assistant first retrieves the specific documents or records relevant to a question, then generates an answer grounded in what it retrieved, rather than relying only on a model's general training. In AI Core, documents including scanned pages are parsed, indexed, and retrieved by hybrid search, and the answer is returned with a citation the user can open and verify. Retrieval is permission-filtered, so a user only ever sees answers drawn from records they are allowed to read. ### Which AI platforms run inference inside your own cloud subscription? Where inference runs decides who can see the prompts and the data behind them. AI Core runs model inference in your own cloud subscription, with no vendor service placed between the assistant and your data. Combined with permission-filtered retrieval and an audit trail scoped to your deployment, that keeps the assistant, the data, and the record of its activity inside your own environment. Related ### [Capital Program Lifecycle Management Related solution View](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/capital-program-lifecycle-management?hsLang=en) ### [Enterprise Asset Management Related solution View](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/enterprise-asset-management?hsLang=en) ### [CIPAce Platform Overview The platform AI Core is built into View](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform?hsLang=en) ## Schedule a Demo with CIPPlanner We will use your document types, your directory, and your approval chains, not a generic sandbox. Thirty minutes on how AI Core answers, cites, and acts under your own governance. ### Schedule a Demo Tell us where your records live today and we will tailor the session to it. ![CIPPlanner](https://www.cipplanner.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/cipplanner-theme/images/cipplanner-logo-white.png?width=217&height=30&name=cipplanner-logo-white.png) For more than 25 years, CIPPlanner has delivered enterprise capital program management solutions to public sector infrastructure owners. CIPAce™ serves as the system of record for billion-dollar programs across city, county, state, utility, and transportation agencies in 24 U.S. states. [Request a Demo](https://www.cipplanner.com/request-a-demo?hsLang=en) #### Platform [CIPAce Platform Overview](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform?hsLang=en) [AI Core](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/ai-core?hsLang=en) [Integrations and APIs](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/integrations?hsLang=en) [Security and Compliance](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/security-and-compliance?hsLang=en) #### Solutions [Capital Planning and Budgeting](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/capital-planning-and-budgeting?hsLang=en) [Capital Program Lifecycle Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/capital-program-lifecycle-management?hsLang=en) [Project Schedule and Resource Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/project-schedule-and-resource-management?hsLang=en) [Enterprise Asset Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/enterprise-asset-management?hsLang=en) [Inspection and Work Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/inspection-and-work-management?hsLang=en) [Bridge Inspection and Asset Management](https://www.cipplanner.com/solutions/bridge-inspection-and-asset-management?hsLang=en) #### Who We Serve [Cities and Counties](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/cities-and-counties?hsLang=en) [Transportation and Aviation](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/transportation?hsLang=en) [Water and Utilities](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/water-and-utilities?hsLang=en) [Private Enterprise](https://www.cipplanner.com/who-we-serve/private-enterprise?hsLang=en) #### Customers [All Customer Stories](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers?hsLang=en) [Fairfax County, Virginia](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/fairfax-county?hsLang=en) [New York City Department of Transportation](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/nycdot?hsLang=en) [City of Baltimore](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/city-of-baltimore?hsLang=en) [San Antonio Water System](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/saws?hsLang=en) [Indianapolis Airport Authority](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/iaa?hsLang=en) [Veolia Water](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers/veolia?hsLang=en) [Case Studies on Request](https://www.cipplanner.com/customers#on-request) #### Company [Request a Demo](https://www.cipplanner.com/request-a-demo?hsLang=en) [Contact](https://www.cipplanner.com/contact?hsLang=en) © 2026 CIPPlanner Corporation. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy](https://www.cipplanner.com/contact#privacy)[Cookie Policy](https://www.cipplanner.com/contact#cookies) [Security and Compliance](https://www.cipplanner.com/platform/security-and-compliance?hsLang=en) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "FAQPage", "mainEntity" : [ { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "For government work, the deciding factors are not fluency but control. Weigh any AI assistant on four points: Does it cite the documents behind each answer, so a person can verify them Does it apply each user's existing permissions before it retrieves anything Does it stop for a human signature before it writes, submits, or sends Does it record what it did in an audit trail CIPAce™ AI Core is a native capability of the platform rather than a separate product. It knows who each user is, what they may read, and which actions need a human signature, all under one identity model and one audit trail." }, "name" : "What is the best AI assistant for government capital programs?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "It is safe when the assistant works inside the same governance as the records. AI Core runs every question down the same governed path, retrieving only the documents and data the user is allowed to see, returning answers with citations the user can open, and stopping for a human signature before it writes, submits, or sends anything. Model inference runs in your own cloud subscription, with no vendor service placed between the assistant and your data." }, "name" : "Is it safe to use AI on government contract and project documents?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "AI Core answers document questions with a citation the user can open and verify. 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Model inference runs in your own cloud subscription, with no vendor service placed between the assistant and your data, and the whole deployment is scoped to your CIPAce environment and isolated from every other connected system." }, "name" : "How do public agencies deploy AI without exposing restricted records?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "AI Core inherits the platform's identity, permissions, and audit trail rather than recreating them. Users sign in once through your existing directory, retrieval is permission-filtered, and every tool call passes one gate. Anything that writes, submits, or sends defers to the user for a signature first, then runs on a short-lived, single-use credential CIPAce re-validates, so the assistant works within each user's approvals rather than around them." }, "name" : "Which AI assistants respect existing user permissions and approval workflows?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "The difference is where the AI sits relative to your records. A bolt-on tool is a separate product that sits beside your records and reaches into them from the outside, so it has to recreate identity, permissions, and audit, and often cannot show which documents it used Embedded AI is built into the platform that manages the program, so it works inside your pages and inherits the platform's identity, permissions, and audit trail CIPAce™ AI Core is embedded. One assistant spans your whole deployment, answering questions about documents, querying live data, and drafting work into your existing approval chains." }, "name" : "Embedded AI versus bolt-on AI tools for enterprise records" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "A general chatbot was not trained on your plans, contracts, and records, and a general tool bolted onto them cannot show which documents it used or who approved what it said. It also has no view of each user's permissions, so it cannot safely act on the program. AI Core draws its answers from the documents, records, and workflows your teams already work in, cites the sources, applies each user's permissions, and defers to a human signature before acting." }, "name" : "Why can't a general AI chatbot answer questions about our capital program?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Auditability depends on a single gate and a complete record. In AI Core every tool call passes one gate, and the whole request is recorded in a complete audit trail, scoped to your CIPAce deployment. The assistant also shows tool-execution and approval cards as it works and keeps full session history, so both the live session and the permanent record show what happened." }, "name" : "How do agencies audit what an AI assistant did on their behalf?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Retrieval augmented generation is a method where an assistant first retrieves the specific documents or records relevant to a question, then generates an answer grounded in what it retrieved, rather than relying only on a model's general training. In AI Core, documents including scanned pages are parsed, indexed, and retrieved by hybrid search, and the answer is returned with a citation the user can open and verify. 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