UK Public Bodies Face 10x-Longer AI Complaints as Tribunal Claims Jump 28%
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Nov 8
UK Public Bodies Face 10x-Longer AI Complaints as Tribunal Claims Jump 28%
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Nov 8
Summary
Half of emails in some MPs’ offices are now AI-generated, while local authorities, courts and watchdogs say the flood of machine-written complaints and requests is sharply increasing staff workloads.
Generative AI lets users produce long, formal submissions in minutes, but officials still must read and answer them; local-government lawyers say complaints that once averaged two pages are now usually 10 times longer, with some reaching 200 pages.
The pressure is showing in formal caseloads: employment tribunal single-claim cases opened rose 28% year on year to 14,000 in April-June, leaving 70,000 open claims at end-June as concluded cases fell.
Transport for London logged a record 4,769 freedom-of-information requests in 2025-26, and MPs’ staff say casework has doubled or more, prompting some offices to stop replying to automated email campaigns.
Authorities are testing limits and automation—word caps, tighter templates and AI summarising tools—but officials warn every pound spent handling AI-generated complaints is diverted from services, and machine filtering risks losing human judgment.