AI’s Bureaucratic Paperwork Flood: What Britain Faces

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A Sky News report published Oct. 20 found that written complaints, Freedom of Information requests and employment tribunal claims have risen across several UK public-service channels since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The pattern is putting pressure on organisations that process applications and appeals, but the data does not prove that AI caused the increase—and researchers say many claims appear to be legitimate.

Figures seen by Sky News show increases across nine complaint categories and individual employment tribunal claims over the period since ChatGPT’s launch. Reported rises include 144% for household complaints about water companies, 78% for complaints about English local authorities, 71% for written complaints to GP practices, and 64% for complaints to the Department for Work and Pensions. Individual employment tribunal claims rose 62%, according to the report.

Those percentages describe changes in the relevant channels since the stated starting point; they do not show that AI accounts for all, or any specific share, of the increase. Each channel has other possible influences. Sky News notes, for example, that water companies have faced difficult years. The report’s central observation is that several different services show a similar trend: activity was relatively flat for years, then began rising after late 2022.

Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe tested 100 recent FOI requests with an AI-text detector. The tool classified 89% as fully AI-written and 9% as human-written; a smaller sample of requests from 2019 was classified as entirely human. Manthorpe cautioned that AI detectors are unreliable and that this limited test does not establish why requests increased. A survey cited in the report found 58% of civil servants said public use of AI-generated content significantly affects their work.

More Claims Reach Public-Service Desks

The rise matters because UK public services rely on written applications, complaints and appeals to identify problems and decide who qualifies for support. If AI makes it easier to prepare those submissions, staff may face more correspondence and more complex requests, while processing systems built around manual reading can struggle to keep pace. Civil servants surveyed described the experience as a significant effect on their work.

But higher volumes are not, by themselves, evidence of abuse. Sky News reports that the proportion of DWP complaints upheld has fallen from somewhere in the 50s to close to 40%. Even at that lower rate, a much larger pool of complaints could mean a higher absolute number of upheld cases. Researcher Chris Schmitz, whose work the report cites, said most of the cases he examined involved people claiming something to which they were entitled. That makes the policy choice consequential: adding barriers could reduce workload, but could also deter people with valid claims.

How AI Changed Written Requests

Before generative AI tools became widely available, preparing a formal complaint or FOI request could require time, confidence and familiarity with official language. Chatbots can draft or polish text quickly, lowering that effort. Sky News places the start of the observed change after ChatGPT’s November 2022 launch, while stressing that timing alone does not prove causation.

In May, the Information Commissioner’s Office issued guidance after public authorities reported higher FOI volumes and more complicated requests. The ICO said AI-written requests remain valid, authorities do not need to determine who—or what—wrote them, and they can seek clarification when a request is unclear. The report also cites Schmitz’s account of 84 possible cases of “agentic flooding” across 11 jurisdictions, most of which had been roughly flat before 2022 and then rose. The cases suggest the issue extends beyond Britain, though they do not establish a single cause for every increase.

““It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.””

— Civil servants quoted in a survey cited by Sky News

What the Rising Counts Cannot Prove

The figures establish increases in selected categories, but the source material does not provide enough detail to isolate AI’s contribution from other causes, such as service failures, policy changes or greater awareness of complaint routes. The reported percentages also do not, on their own, show the total number of cases in each category or whether every channel uses the same measurement period and method.

The AI-detector exercise is not a reliable measure of authorship: the report itself warns that such tools can misclassify text. Nor does the civil-servant survey establish that AI caused the wider rise in complaints. The available material also does not quantify how much staff time AI-generated submissions add, how many are automatically resolved, or what proportion of future submissions will be initiated by autonomous agents.

Services Face Pressure to Adapt

The immediate challenge for public bodies is to handle valid submissions without treating AI authorship as grounds for rejection. The ICO’s existing guidance says authorities can ask for clarification when requests are poorly formed, but should not require people to prove that a human wrote them.

Loosemore’s proposed direction is to replace essay-heavy processes with services that collect structured information. The report also warns that AI agents could move beyond drafting letters to submitting claims or appeals on a person’s behalf, increasing the speed and scale of applications. It does not set out a timetable for such a shift or a government response. The next test will be whether public services can update their processes while preserving access for people with valid complaints and claims.

Key Questions

What did the Sky News report find?

It reported increases since ChatGPT’s November 2022 launch across several written complaint channels, FOI requests and individual employment tribunal claims. The figures show a trend, not proof that AI caused it.

Does the report show that AI caused the rise in complaints?

No. The timing and similar patterns across several channels are suggestive, but other factors may also explain the increases. The report says its AI-detector test is inconclusive and that such tools can be unreliable.

Are AI-written FOI requests valid in the UK?

According to guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office cited by Sky News, AI-written FOI requests remain valid. Authorities do not need to identify whether a person or AI wrote them, and may ask for clarification if a request is unclear.

Are the additional complaints mostly frivolous?

The report does not establish that. Researcher Chris Schmitz said most cases in his research involved people claiming something they were entitled to claim. That finding should not be treated as a measure of every UK complaint channel.

What changes could public services make?

Tom Loosemore argues for replacing essay-based processes with structured data collection. The report does not describe a specific government plan or timeline for that change.

Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com