Government-built AI tool used to cut admin work for human staff

14 May 2025, 00:04

Peter Kyle leaves 10 Downing Street, London
Cabinet meeting. Picture: PA

An AI tool called Consult has been tested as a way of speeding up the analysis of public responses to consultations.

A Government-built AI tool has been used for the first time to summarise public responses to a consultation and is now set to be rolled out more widely in an effort to save money and staff time.

The tool, called Consult, has been used on a live consultation by the Scottish Government when it was seeking public views on how to regulate non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

The UK Government said the tool analysed responses and was able to produce results identical to human officials, and will now be used to review responses from other consultations, while also being developed further, and claimed it could help save human workers from 75,000 days of manual analysis each year, which costs around £20 million in staffing.

Some consultations receive tens or even hundreds of thousands of responses and the UK Government said the AI tool would reduce the need for human staff to review each response manually and categorise it.

Consult is part of a suite of AI tools called Humphrey – named after the senior civil servant in Yes, Minister – which the UK Government is using to speed up the work of civil servants and cut back time spent on administrative tasks and money spent on contractors.

That technology is part of wider plans announced in January by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer aimed at making the UK an AI global superpower, which also include proposals to expand the UK’s AI infrastructure.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “No-one should be wasting time on something AI can do quicker and better, let alone wasting millions of taxpayer pounds on outsourcing such work to contractors.

“After demonstrating such promising results, Humphrey will help us cut the costs of governing and make it easier to collect and comprehensively review what experts and the public are telling us on a range of crucial issues.

“The Scottish Government has taken a bold first step. Very soon, I’ll be using Consult, within Humphrey, in my own department and others in Whitehall will be using it too – speeding up our work to deliver the plan for change.”

The Government has said it hopes to make better use of technology across public services, with the aim of making around £45 billion in productivity savings.

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

Three and Vodafone

VodafoneThree promises better coverage at ‘no extra cost’ within months

The Khankhuuluu species weighed 750 kilograms, about the size of a horse

Newly discovered ‘Dragon Prince’ dinosaur rewrites history of T.rex

Aviation technology company Sita said 33.4 million bags were mishandled in 2024, compared with 33.8 million during the previous year.

Airlines lose fewer bags as tracking tech takes off as bosses say passengers expect similar service to a 'delivery app'

A woman using a mobile phone

Shoppers urged by Which? to consider protections when using ‘pay by bank’

Social media app icons displayed on an Apple iPhone

Social media giants can ‘get on’ and tackle fraud cases, says City watchdog

Experts have warned about the risks posed by period tracking apps (Alamy/PA)

Experts warn of risks linked to period tracker apps

Data (Use and Access) Bill

Lords’ objections to Data Bill over copyright threatens its existence – minister

A primary school teacher looking stressed next to piles of classroom books

Pupils could gain more face-to-face time with teachers under AI plans

A self-driving Uber equipped with cameras and sensors drives the streets of Washington, DC

Uber to launch self-driving taxis in London next spring

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle

Investments in UK tech sector will create hundreds of jobs, says Government

Rachel Reeves, left, wearing a lab coat and putting on some disposable gloves with Peter Kyle, both standing next to a microscope

Rachel Reeves to announce £86bn for science and technology in spending review

View of the Alphawave Semi logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen

Alphawave agrees £1.8bn takeover by America’s Qualcomm

The TikTok logo displayed on a phone

TikTok creating more than 500 new British jobs as UK users top 30 million

Starmer visit to London Tech Week conference

Sir Keir Starmer vows to overcome sceptical public on ‘harnessing power’ of AI

A sign for the Post Office

More than £1 billion paid to those wronged by Horizon scandal, Government says

One in three employers believe AI will boost productivity

‘Significant challenges’ in use of AI within UK screen sector