Somerset Council is planning to spend £1.56m on digital innovations in a bid to improve services and reduce costs.
Local authority chiefs approved the investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and other tech as part of an ongoing 'Inspiring Innovation' transformation programme.
The cash will predominantly fund the expansion of the council’s AI and data team and will create 15 new jobs.
Under the plans, Somerset Council is proposing to create ‘single views’ of residents, bringing together data held by different parts of the authority.
It said this would help identify earlier when support is needed - and allow it to intervene before someone reaches crisis point.
Cllr Theo Butt Philip, lead member for transformation, human resources and localities, said: "With demand and costs for services continuing to rise, we know we need to radically rethink how we operate to put more focus on prevention.
"This investment will act as a key enabler for our transformation programme, providing much improved data and linking with the latest in artificial intelligence to help us do things differently and do things better.
"This is a long-term investment to build capability across the whole council, to help us to make the most of the opportunities provided by better use of data and AI, enabling us to deliver better outcomes for the people and communities of Somerset."
Somerset Council said initial work found that improved use of data in areas ranging from employment and debt collection to health and domestic abuse could help it detect individuals and families at risk of homelessness "much earlier".
Estimates suggest the use of tech could help prevent up to 256 families being made homeless each year, the local authority added.
The investment in the programme will be funded by capital already set aside for transformation work. It is understood this is one-off funding which cannot be used to pay for everyday services or running costs.
