Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order on Friday that would allow the state to use Agent AI in its regulatory reduction pilot program.
Youngkin's move is part of an increase in initiatives focused on efficiency at the state level, with the number increasingly relying on new technologies such as AI. In Virginia, Executive Order 51 (2025) is establishing a new pilot aimed at increasing government efficiency and building on previous work in this field with Agent AI.
This is also not Youngkin's first executive move to cut state regulations, but rather a previous effort, including Executive Directive 1 (2022) and Executive Order 19 (2022), which calls for a 25% regulatory cut. The state has surpassed that target, with agencies streamlining 26.8% of regulatory requirements and eliminating 47.9% of words in guidance documents.
“We will further drive this effort to continue our mission to unlock Virginia's economy in ways that benefit all citizens using emergency artificial intelligence tools,” Gov. Youngkin said in a statement.
Agent AI is the latest iteration of technologies that differ from AI generated due to its autonomous decision making capabilities. Essentially, the agent AI system takes some action.
In a new initiative, AI tools will scan all existing regulations and guidance documents and identify opportunities to streamline them. Areas where regulations are inconsistent with state law are flagged. Identify redundancy and highlight some of the languages that can be improved.
For state agencies that have not yet reached their 25% reduction target, AI tools are expected to help close the gap. The initiative is expected to enable AI to be used in future regulatory review processes.
Virginia is “the first state to launch an agent AI tool to enhance regulatory reduction processes,” and read the statement from Reeve Bull, the Virginia Department of Regulatory Control's directory.
Going forward, the executive order also requires administrative agencies to use AI in regular regulatory reviews every four years. This requirement applies to all reviews made after December 31st. Both human and AI tools need to play a role in these processes.
Virginia is working to take a responsible approach to AI implementation, and Youngkin provides guardrails to protect and use data. The Virginia AI Task Force was also created to provide policy feedback and advise on AI-related pilot programs.
“We are very excited and see that as these innovations occur, it is worth embracing them, using them and applying them,” Cio Bob Osmond previously said. Government Technology ai, It emphasizes that they are tools to use with human staff.
