🔍 Read the full analysis: AI Is Pushing More Paperwork Into Britain’s Bureaucratic System on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
TL;DR
A Sky News report published October 20 says written complaints, FOI requests and employment tribunal claims have risen across several UK public services since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The pattern is consistent with AI making formal submissions easier to produce, but the data does not establish that AI caused the increases, and available evidence suggests many claims are legitimate.
Written complaints and claims to UK public bodies have increased across multiple channels since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, according to data examined in a Sky News report published October 20. The report says the pattern is consistent with AI making formal paperwork easier to produce, adding pressure to public services that depend on written applications and appeals; it does not prove AI caused the increases.
Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe reported increases across complaints about water companies, local authorities, GP practices, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and employment tribunals. The figures compare reported volumes with levels around ChatGPT’s launch: household complaints about water companies were up 144%, complaints to English local authorities 78%, written complaints to GP practices 71%, and DWP complaints 64%. Individual employment tribunal claims rose 62%.
The report also lists increases in complaints about legal services, up 49%; written NHS complaints, 35%; police complaints, 34%; and complaints about public services, 23%. Each channel has its own possible causes, and the figures alone do not isolate AI’s effect. The shared pattern Manthorpe describes is a long period of relative stability followed by increases from late 2022.
To test whether requests were AI-written, Manthorpe ran 100 recent Freedom of Information requests through an AI-text detector. It classified 89% as fully AI-written and 9% as human-written; a smaller 2019 sample was classified as entirely human. Manthorpe cautioned that AI detectors are unreliable and that this test does not establish why request volumes rose.
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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Pressure on Paper-Based Services
The reported increases matter because many public services still rely on people setting out a case in writing to request information, complain, or challenge a decision. If AI lowers the time and writing skill needed to submit paperwork, authorities may face more correspondence even when their staffing and processes have not changed. A survey of civil servants cited by Sky News found 58% said public AI-generated content significantly affects their work.
That pressure does not mean the submissions are mostly frivolous. Sky News reported that the proportion of DWP complaints upheld has fallen from the 50s to close to 40%, while remaining substantial. Because the total number of complaints has increased, the report says the number upheld may still be higher in absolute terms than before. The precise totals are not provided in the source material.
The policy choice is consequential: adding fees or obstacles could reduce volume, but might also deter people with valid complaints. The report presents a competing approach from digital government advocate Tom Loosemore: redesign services around structured information rather than long written accounts.
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A Rise Since ChatGPT’s Launch
For more than a decade, the number of FOI requests to British public bodies had changed little, according to the trend described in the Sky News report. The curve began to rise after ChatGPT launched in November 2022, with increases later appearing across other written channels. The timing is suggestive, but coincidence in timing is not proof of cause; issues specific to individual services can also affect complaint numbers.
The issue is not confined to Britain. Researcher Chris Schmitz, in a paper reported by TechCrunch in September, identified 84 possible cases of what he calls “agentic flooding” across 11 jurisdictions. The source material says most had been roughly flat before 2022 and rose afterward. It also cites the UK Housing Ombudsman, whose complaints increased from about 2,600 in 2022 to just over 7,000 last year, and the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where complaints grew fivefold.
In May, the Information Commissioner’s Office issued guidance on AI-generated FOI requests after public authorities reported higher volumes and more complex submissions. The ICO said AI-written requests remain valid, authorities do not need to identify whether AI wrote them, and officials may seek clarification when a request is unclear or poorly formed.
“It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.”
— Civil servants quoted in a survey cited by Sky News
What the Figures Cannot Prove
The reported increase does not establish that AI caused more people to complain or file claims. The source material gives percentage changes but does not specify the full measurement period or underlying counts for each channel, limiting comparisons between services. Local causes, changes in awareness, and shifts in how complaints are recorded may also affect the figures.
The AI-detector test is also limited: the tool may misclassify text, and a sample of 100 recent FOI requests cannot show how representative AI use is across all requests. The survey result that 58% of civil servants reported a significant impact is described without details about the sample size or survey method in the source material. It is not yet clear how much of the rise reflects AI-assisted writing, newly expressed unmet demand, or other factors.
Nor is the future scale of automated filing known. The report demonstrates an AI agent capable of acting for a user, but it does not establish how widely people will use agents to submit appeals or claims, or how public bodies will respond.
How Public Services Respond
The immediate response remains governed by existing rules, including the ICO’s guidance that an AI-written FOI request is still a valid request. Authorities can ask for clarification when submissions are unclear, but the guidance does not treat AI authorship itself as grounds for rejection.
The larger question is whether services will keep asking people to explain cases in open-ended letters or move toward structured forms and data that are easier to process consistently. Loosemore warns that adding friction may simply create an arms race with tools designed to work around it. The report does not identify a government-wide redesign plan or timetable, so any broader policy response remains uncertain.
As AI agents become more capable of submitting requests and appeals on a user’s behalf, public bodies will face further tests of capacity and process. The next developments to watch are whether complaint volumes continue rising, how many submissions are upheld, and whether departments change their systems without blocking people with valid claims.
Key Questions
What did the Sky News report find?
It reported increases since ChatGPT launched in November 2022 across several written channels, including FOI requests, public-service complaints and employment tribunal claims. The figures show a pattern, not proof that AI caused it.
Does the data prove AI is causing more complaints?
No. The report describes increases that began after ChatGPT’s launch, but timing alone cannot establish cause. Other developments, including service-specific problems, may also affect complaint levels.
Are AI-written FOI requests valid?
According to guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office in May, AI-written requests remain valid. Public authorities do not need to determine whether a request was written by AI, though they can ask for clarification if it is unclear.
Are the increased claims mostly fake or frivolous?
The evidence in the report does not support assuming that. Researcher Chris Schmitz said most cases he examined involved people claiming something they were entitled to claim. The report also says a substantial share of DWP complaints are upheld, though the share has declined.
What changes could public bodies make?
One proposal from Tom Loosemore is to rely less on essays and long written explanations and more on structured data. The source material does not describe an adopted government-wide plan or a timetable for such changes.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
