🔍 Read the full analysis: How AI Is Testing Britain’s Bureaucracy With More Paperwork on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
A Sky News report published October 20 says written complaints, Freedom of Information requests and employment tribunal claims have risen across British public services since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The report links the pattern to cheaper AI-assisted writing but does not establish that AI caused the increases; officials also say many complaints reflect genuine problems.
A Sky News report published October 20 documents rising complaints, Freedom of Information requests and employment tribunal claims across UK public services since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, raising questions about how a paperwork-heavy state can process more submissions. The figures show a broad increase, but do not prove AI caused it; the report also cites evidence that many claims are legitimate.
Using data it reviewed, Sky News reports increases across nine written-submission channels, including 144% for household complaints about water companies, 78% for complaints to English local authorities, and 71% for written complaints to GP practices. Complaints to the Department for Work and Pensions rose 64%, while individual employment tribunal claims increased 62%. The figures compare levels since ChatGPT’s launch, although the source material does not provide a detailed period-by-period methodology for each series.
The report describes a similar pattern across these otherwise different services: volumes were broadly flat for years, then began rising after late 2022. That timing is consistent with the growing availability of generative AI, but it does not establish a direct cause. Each channel has its own possible drivers; the report notes, for example, that water companies have faced difficult years.
Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe also tested 100 recent FOI requests with an AI-text detector. It labelled 89% fully AI-written and 9% human, while a smaller 2019 sample was labelled entirely human. Manthorpe cautioned that the test is not conclusive: AI detectors can be unreliable, and the exercise cannot show that AI produced the wider rise in requests.
Infographic 01 · The paperwork curve
Flat for a decade. Then ChatGPT made paperwork cheap.
Across almost every channel where people write to the British state, volume has risen since November 2022. Much of it is justified.
Growth since ChatGPT launched
Change per channel since November 2022, as measured by Sky News. Bar length on a 0–150% scale.
Each channel has its own causes. The repeated shape, flat then accelerating from late 2022, is the signal.
Not just Britain
Other measurements of the same trend.
- UK Housing Ombudsman: about 2,600 complaints in 2022, just over 7,000 last year (TechCrunch).
- US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: complaints up fivefold over the same period.
- 84 cases in 11 jurisdictions of possible “agentic flooding”, most flat before 2022 (Chris Schmitz).
- ICO guidance, May 2026: AI-written FOI requests are valid; authorities may ask for clarification.
Schmitz: “The vast majority of cases we find are people who are entitled to claim for something, claiming for that thing.”
Sources: Sky News, Why AI could break Britain’s bureaucracy (20 Oct 2026); TechCrunch (10 Sep 2026); ICO (May 2026).
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More Submissions, More Pressure on Services
The increase matters because public bodies must handle written complaints and requests alongside their existing work. In an academic survey cited by Sky News, 58% of civil servants said AI-generated content from the public significantly affects their work. Some described a faster, more demanding inbox: one said, “It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.” Others reported feeling they were arguing with a chatbot, or found the work exhausting and anxiety-inducing.
But a larger volume is not the same as a flood of baseless claims. Sky News reports that the proportion of DWP complaints upheld has fallen from the 50% range to close to 40%. That is a decline in the success rate, not proof that most complaints are frivolous; with more submissions overall, the number of upheld complaints could still be higher. Researcher Chris Schmitz, whose work on possible “agentic flooding” was reported by TechCrunch, said, “The vast majority of cases we find are people who are entitled to claim for something, claiming for that thing.”
That distinction shapes the policy choice. Making submissions harder could reduce workloads, but may also deter people with valid complaints or entitlements. The report’s central concern is whether services designed around people writing formal essays can cope when AI makes producing those texts faster and easier.
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How AI Changed the Paperwork Landscape
For more than a decade, the number of FOI requests to British public bodies had changed little, according to the Sky News report. The rise after late 2022 appears alongside increases in complaints to councils, health services, government departments and regulators. The pattern is not unique to Britain: a paper by Chris Schmitz, covered by TechCrunch in September, documented 84 possible cases in 11 jurisdictions that he described as “agentic flooding.” The cases generally showed growth after 2022, though they span different systems and circumstances.
The UK Housing Ombudsman received about 2,600 complaints in 2022 and just over 7,000 the following year, the source reports. In the United States, complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau grew fivefold. These examples illustrate the scale of reported change but do not establish that AI alone caused it.
In May, the Information Commissioner’s Office issued guidance after public authorities reported higher volumes and more complex FOI requests, including submissions that misquoted legislation or needed clarification. The ICO said AI-written requests remain valid: authorities do not need to determine whether AI produced them, and can ask for clarification when a request is unclear.
““It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.””
— Civil servants quoted in an academic survey cited by Sky News
What the Figures Cannot Establish
The reported increases show a timing pattern, not proof that AI caused each rise. Public services face different conditions, and the source does not provide enough detail to assess every dataset’s definitions, coverage or comparison periods. The AI-detector test is also limited: detector results can be wrong, and identifying text as AI-written does not establish why a request was made or whether its contents are accurate.
It is also unclear how much of the current increase comes from people using chatbots to draft submissions, as opposed to other changes in public awareness, service performance or reporting. The next stage may involve AI agents that submit or pursue requests automatically, but the report does not quantify how widely such tools are currently being used. How much of the increased workload represents valid claims, and how much requires clarification or is unfounded, will vary by service.
Services Face an Automation Test
The immediate question for public bodies is how to manage higher volumes without blocking people who have legitimate complaints or claims. The ICO’s current guidance says authorities can seek clarification from requesters, while treating AI-assisted FOI submissions as valid requests. The Financial Ombudsman Service has taken a different step: after finding about a third of its complaints were AI-generated, it began charging some professional representatives to bring complaints, and complaint numbers fell. The source does not establish whether that approach would work across other services or what effect it had on access to valid claims.
Loosemore’s proposed alternative is to replace long written submissions with services based on structured data, where applicants provide information through defined fields rather than essays. The report does not set out a government plan or timetable for such changes. It also warns that AI agents could soon move beyond drafting letters and begin filing claims or appeals on a person’s behalf, potentially increasing volumes further. Whether government will redesign those services, and how quickly, remains unanswered.
Key Questions
What did the Sky News report find?
It reported increases in written complaints, FOI requests and employment tribunal claims across several UK public-service channels after ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The figures show a pattern over time, not proof that AI caused every increase.
Does the report show that most new complaints are AI-generated?
No. A detector labelled 89% of a sample of 100 recent FOI requests as fully AI-written, but Sky News correspondent Rowland Manthorpe said the test was not conclusive. AI detectors can be unreliable, and the sample does not establish the share of AI-written submissions across all services.
Are AI-written FOI requests valid?
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance published in May, AI-written requests are still valid. Public authorities do not need to determine who or what wrote them, and may ask for clarification if a request is poorly formed.
Are the increased complaints mostly baseless?
The report does not support treating the increase as proof of widespread abuse. It cites researcher Chris Schmitz’s view that most cases he examined involved people claiming something they were entitled to. The evidence and outcomes differ among services.
What changes could government make?
Tom Loosemore argues for services based on structured information rather than lengthy written applications. No government timetable or plan for that redesign is provided in the source material.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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