UK institutions swamped by AI-generated complaints
Local authorities, courts and schools report longer, more numerous filings—one reached 200 pages—while bodies consider length limits and AI triage.
Public bodies across the United Kingdom are facing a growing administrative burden as a surge of complaints, freedom-of-information requests and legal submissions produced with the help of chatbots reach local councils, courts, schools and MPs' offices.
The length and volume of filings has risen sharply: where complaints once averaged about two pages, officials report many now run to roughly 20 pages, and one submission received by an unnamed body reached 200 pages.
Officials warn of wasted time and dubious content
Besides sheer volume, staff say many AI-generated documents contain incorrect legal reasoning, fabricated facts or citations to laws from other countries, forcing hours of manual checking. The UK regulator for information protection has also reminded public bodies that they remain obliged to consider requests even when there is suspicion the material was produced by artificial intelligence.
Pressure on particular organisations is quantifiable. The London transport operator logged a record 4,769 requests for access to information in the financial year 2025/2026. At the same time, the number of newly opened individual cases at employment tribunals rose by 28 percent year-on-year in the April–June quarter.
Some councils and public offices are already exploring practical responses: limiting the permitted length of complaints, and trialling AI tools to perform initial triage and summarisation so human staff can focus on verification and decision-making.
Photo: press material from the event
