Britain’s Bureaucracy Has A New AI Paperwork Challenge

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A Sky News report published October 20 found that written complaints, Freedom of Information requests and individual employment tribunal claims have risen across Britain since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, raising questions about how public services handle growing volumes of paperwork. The figures show a broad pattern, but do not prove that AI caused the increases.

Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe examined data from several public-service channels. Compared with the period around ChatGPT’s launch, household complaints about water companies were up 144%; complaints about English local authorities rose 78%, written complaints to GP practices 71%, and complaints to the Department for Work and Pensions 64%. Individual employment tribunal claims increased 62%, according to the report.

Other reported increases included 35% for written NHS complaints, 34% for complaints about police forces and 23% for complaints about public services overall. Each category has its own possible causes, the report cautioned. Water companies, for example, have faced difficult years. The common feature is the reported timing: after a long period of relatively little change, volumes began rising around late 2022 and accelerated.

Manthorpe also tested 100 recent FOI requests with an AI-text detector. It classified 89% as fully AI-written and 9% as human-written; a smaller sample of requests from 2019 was classified as entirely human. The report stressed that this was a limited test, not proof: AI detectors are unreliable, and the sample cannot establish why request numbers grew.

More Claims, Greater Service Pressure

For councils, departments, regulators and tribunals, a sharp rise in written submissions can mean more time spent reading, clarifying and responding. That pressure matters to people waiting for decisions and to staff responsible for processing claims. A system designed around letters and essays may struggle when software makes it much easier to produce them.

But volume alone does not show that submissions are frivolous. Sky News reported that the share of DWP complaints upheld has declined from levels in the 50s to close to 40%. That is a lower success rate, not evidence that most complaints are baseless; with a much larger total number, the absolute number of upheld complaints could still be higher. Researcher Chris Schmitz told TechCrunch that “the vast majority of cases we find are people who are entitled to claim for something, claiming for that thing.”

The policy choice is consequential: services could add barriers to reduce submissions, or redesign processes so that legitimate claims can be handled without requiring lengthy written arguments. If AI helps people overcome the difficulty of navigating formal procedures, restricting AI-written submissions could also deter people with valid complaints.

The Rules for AI-Written Requests

The Information Commissioner’s Office addressed AI-generated FOI requests in guidance published in May. Authorities had reported higher volumes and more complex requests, including submissions that misquoted legislation or needed clarification. The ICO said an AI-written request remains a valid request, authorities do not need to determine whether a person or AI wrote it, and they may ask for clarification when its wording is unclear.

The reported pattern also extends beyond Britain. A paper by Chris Schmitz, covered by TechCrunch in September, identified 84 possible cases across 11 jurisdictions of what he calls “agentic flooding.” The paper described many cases as broadly flat before 2022 and rising afterward. The UK Housing Ombudsman received about 2,600 complaints in 2022 and just over 7,000 last year, while the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s complaints grew fivefold, according to the source report. These comparisons suggest a wider development, but do not by themselves establish that AI explains it.

Today, many people still use chatbots to draft text and submit it themselves. The next development may be AI agents that can take actions for users, not just write letters. Manthorpe demonstrated an agent service from Meta in the report, raising the prospect of automated appeals and claims being filed at scale.

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

— Civil servants surveyed in an academic study cited by Sky News

What the Figures Cannot Establish

The reported increases establish that recorded volumes rose in the listed channels, but they do not isolate AI’s role from other causes. Changing service quality, public awareness, eligibility, backlogs or reporting practices could also affect complaint and claim numbers. The comparison spans different services and measures, so the percentages should not be treated as directly equivalent.

The AI-detector test is also limited: automated detectors can misclassify text, and 100 recent FOI requests are not necessarily representative of all requests. The source material does not provide full underlying datasets or a method for separating AI-assisted submissions from ordinary ones. It is therefore unclear how many additional submissions were generated by AI, how many would have been made anyway, or how many reflect claims that would otherwise have gone unvoiced.

It is also not yet clear how quickly AI agents will move from demonstrations to routine use in public-service applications, or whether existing systems can handle automated filings without delaying other users.

From Written Forms to Structured Claims

The immediate challenge for public bodies is to process current workloads while preserving access to valid complaints and appeals. The ICO’s existing guidance gives authorities a basis for handling AI-written FOI requests: assess the request itself, and seek clarification if its wording is unclear, rather than trying to identify its author.

Loosemore has argued for services built around structured data instead of essays—forms that ask for the information needed to assess a case, rather than requiring people to draft persuasive letters. He warned that adding friction could prompt an arms race with technology companies able to work around restrictions. He also said, “I can’t see the current way we run benefits in the UK surviving,” without fundamental changes.

The next test will be whether government departments and other public bodies adapt their processes as AI-assisted submissions and agent-based services develop. The source report does not identify a specific reform timetable or policy decision. Until further data and changes emerge, the scale of AI’s contribution—and the best way to protect both staff capacity and public access—remains unsettled.

Key Questions

Have complaints and claims risen across UK public services?

Yes. Sky News reported increases in several categories since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, including water-company complaints, local-authority complaints, GP complaints and tribunal claims. The size of the rise varied by channel.

Do the figures prove AI caused the increase?

No. The figures show a pattern of rising volumes, but do not establish that AI caused it. Other changes may have contributed, and the AI-detector test described by Sky News was limited and inconclusive.

Are AI-written Freedom of Information requests valid?

The Information Commissioner’s Office said in guidance published in May that AI-written FOI requests remain valid. Authorities do not need to determine who or what wrote a request, and may ask for clarification if it is unclear.

Are the additional complaints mostly unfounded?

The available information does not support that conclusion. Sky News reported a lower share of DWP complaints being upheld, close to 40%, but the larger overall volume could still mean more complaints are upheld in absolute numbers. Schmitz said most cases in his research involved people claiming something they were entitled to.

What changes to public services are being proposed?

Tom Loosemore has argued for processes based on structured information rather than essays, so people can provide the details needed to assess a claim without writing a formal argument. The report did not identify a confirmed government timetable for such a change.

Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com