Can Britain’s Bureaucracy Keep Up With AI-Driven Paperwork?

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A Sky News report published October 20 documents rising written complaints, Freedom of Information requests and tribunal claims across UK public services since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The report says AI has made it easier to produce formal paperwork, but the data show a correlation, not proof that AI caused the increases—and many submissions appear to involve genuine claims.

Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe compared complaint and claim figures across several channels. The report gives increases since ChatGPT’s launch of 144% for household complaints about water companies, 78% for complaints to English local authorities and 71% for written complaints to GP practices. It also reports increases of 64% for complaints to the Department for Work and Pensions and 62% for individual employment tribunal claims. The figures are reported as growth over the period; the source material does not specify a common comparison window or starting counts for each series.

Other reported increases include 49% for legal services complaints, 35% for written complaints to the NHS, 34% for police complaints and 23% for public-service complaints. The report describes a similar pattern across channels: relatively little movement for years, followed by rises from late 2022. It also cautions that individual services have their own reasons for changes; water companies, for example, have faced difficult years.

To examine whether requests were AI-written, Manthorpe ran 100 recent FOI requests through an AI-text checker. The tool labelled 89% fully AI-written and 9% human; a smaller 2019 sample was labelled entirely human. Sky News notes that AI detectors are unreliable and that this small test cannot establish that AI caused the wider trend. A survey cited in the report found 58% of civil servants said AI-generated material from the public significantly affects their work.

The Cost of More Written Claims

More submissions mean public bodies may need additional staff time to read, clarify and answer correspondence. That pressure can affect response times and service capacity, including for people whose cases need careful consideration. If agencies respond mainly by making it harder to submit complaints or appeals, they could also block access for people with valid claims who previously lacked the time or confidence to write a formal letter.

The report cites evidence that the added volume is not simply a flood of baseless claims. At the DWP, the share of complaints upheld has fallen from the 50s to close to 40%, according to Sky News, but the report says the much larger total still means more upheld complaints in absolute numbers. Researcher Chris Schmitz, whose work the report discusses, says most cases in his study involve people claiming something they are entitled to. That makes the policy challenge twofold: manage workload without making access to redress harder.

From Chatbots to Filing Agents

The Information Commissioner’s Office issued guidance in May after public authorities reported more FOI requests and greater complexity, including requests that misquote legislation or require clarification. The ICO’s position, as summarized by Sky News, is that an AI-written request remains valid. Authorities do not need to establish whether AI was used, though they can seek clarification if a request is unclear.

The report also points to possible growth beyond people using chatbots to draft text. AI agents can take actions on a person’s behalf, including preparing or sending submissions. Manthorpe demonstrated an agent service from Meta and raised examples such as automated parking-ticket appeals or rail Delay Repay claims. A paper by Chris Schmitz, reported by TechCrunch in September, describes 84 possible cases of “agentic flooding” across 11 jurisdictions. The source material says most were roughly flat before 2022 and rose afterward; that pattern does not by itself establish a cause.

Some organizations have tried adding friction. The Financial Ombudsman Service found about one-third of its complaints were AI-generated and began charging some professional representatives to bring complaints; the number of complaints fell. That is one service’s experience, not evidence that the same policy would work across government or distinguish weak claims from valid ones.

“It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.”

— Civil servants quoted in a survey cited by Sky News

Cause, Scale and Service Capacity

The report shows increases after ChatGPT’s launch, but it does not establish that AI is the cause. Other factors may contribute, and the supplied figures do not give a consistent baseline, starting count or shared measurement window for every channel. The AI-detector test covered only 100 recent FOI requests, used a tool the report describes as unreliable, and cannot show how much AI contributed to the broader rise.

It is also unclear how quickly AI agents will become common in public-service claims, how much additional work they will create, or which services will be most affected. The available material does not quantify the staffing or financial costs of handling the increased correspondence. Nor does it establish whether measures such as fees or added submission steps reduce invalid claims without deterring people with valid ones.

Redesigning the Application Process

The report points to a choice between adding friction to submissions and redesigning services so they rely less on open-ended written essays. Loosemore advocates structured data in place of lengthy written applications, arguing that services need to change how they collect information rather than try to block AI-generated text. He warns that systems designed around people writing extensive explanations may not remain workable as automated tools become more capable.

For now, the ICO’s guidance gives public bodies a basis for handling AI-written FOI requests: they remain valid, and unclear requests can be clarified. The source material does not identify a new UK-wide policy or timetable for changing complaint and application systems. The next indications will come from how agencies manage volumes, whether they alter their forms and processes, and whether further evidence can separate AI’s role from other causes of rising claims.

Key Questions

What did the Sky News report find?

It reported increases since ChatGPT launched in several written channels, including water-company complaints, local-authority complaints, FOI requests and employment tribunal claims. The report describes a shared upward pattern but does not prove AI caused it.

Does the report prove that AI caused complaints to rise?

No. The increases occurred after ChatGPT’s launch, but timing alone does not establish causation. The AI-text checker test was small, and the report notes that such detectors are unreliable.

Are AI-written FOI requests valid?

According to guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office, an AI-written request is still valid. Public authorities do not need to determine who or what wrote it, but they may ask for clarification if it is poorly formed.

Are the increased complaints mostly invalid?

The report does not support that conclusion. It cites researcher Chris Schmitz’s view that most cases in his study involve people claiming something they are entitled to, while DWP complaint figures show a lower upheld share but more upheld complaints in absolute terms as total volume grew.

What response is being proposed?

Tom Loosemore argues for replacing paperwork-heavy, open-ended applications with structured data collection. The report does not describe a UK-wide adoption plan or a confirmed timetable for such changes.

Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com