UK public bodies battle AI clog as chatbot-generated complaints drive an onslaught

A fast-growing workload

Businesses, local authorities, courts, schools and other public bodies report receiving more AI-written complaints, letters and legal challenges. The messages can take moments to create but require substantial staff time to review and answer.

Long and difficult requests

The ICO cautions that authorities still need to respond to requests that appear to have been drafted using AI, even when they contain inaccuracies. Local authorities say long messages, certain phrases and bullet points can indicate that correspondence was artificially generated.

Pressure across organisations

Local authorities receive complaints about issues including adult social care, missed bin collections and planning applications. Evans says councils do not receive additional funding when complaint volumes rise, and warns that handling complaints diverts money from other services.

Employers are also receiving correspondence that is entirely AI-generated or heavily based on AI wording, according to Jim Moore, an employee relations expert at Hamilton Nash. Complaints to employers can be unnecessarily lengthy and portray relatively minor incidents as serious offences, the article reports.

Responses and possible limits

Transport for London’s audit and assurance committee minutes recorded a rise in appeals that appeared to be AI-generated. The appeals often included technical claims and assumptions that were inaccurate, the committee said.

Wickens says AI agents may help people who find it difficult to write correspondence, but her office has stopped responding to automated “click to email your MP” campaigns so it can focus on constituents’ requests. Evans says some ombudsman services are introducing word limits or online templates to restrict the information people can attach.