🔍 Read the full analysis: Friction Alone Won’t Keep AI Paperwork Out Of British Bureaucracy on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
A Sky News report published October 20, 2026, finds that complaints, information requests and tribunal claims have risen across multiple UK public services since ChatGPT launched. The pattern does not prove AI caused the increase, and evidence suggests many claims are legitimate; experts warn that adding barriers could exclude people with valid complaints.
A Sky News report published October 20 found that written complaints, Freedom of Information requests and employment tribunal claims have risen across several UK public services since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The report links the timing to the spread of AI writing tools, but says the trend does not establish that AI caused the increases; the findings renew questions about how a paperwork-heavy state can handle more submissions without blocking people with valid claims.
Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe used data seen by the broadcaster to compare changes across complaint and claim channels. Since ChatGPT’s launch, the report found increases of 144% in household complaints about water companies, 78% in complaints to English local authorities, and 71% in written complaints to GP practices. Complaints to the Department for Work and Pensions rose 64%, while individual employment tribunal claims increased 62%.
The reported increases varied by service: complaints about legal services rose 49%, written complaints to the NHS 35%, complaints to police forces 34%, and complaints about public services 23%. Sky News described a similar trajectory across channels—years of little change, followed by a gradual rise from late 2022 and then faster growth. Each service may have its own reasons for rising complaints; the timing alone does not identify a cause.
Manthorpe also tested 100 recent FOI requests with an AI-text checker. It marked 89% as fully AI-written and 9% as human; a smaller sample from 2019 was marked entirely human. He cautioned that AI detectors are unreliable and that the test cannot prove AI caused the increase. Separately, a survey of civil servants cited by Sky News found 58% said public AI-generated content significantly affects their work.
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 Claims, More Pressure on Services
The rise matters because public services must handle submissions that may now take less time and confidence to produce. If people can use AI to draft a complaint or appeal, agencies may receive more correspondence, including requests that are complicated, poorly formed or based on a misunderstanding. That can add work for staff and slow responses to other users.
But treating higher volume as evidence of abuse could also shut out people whose complaints have merit. Sky News reported that the share of DWP complaints upheld has declined from the 50s to close to 40%. That is a lower success rate, not proof that the increase consists mainly of invalid claims; because the overall number of complaints is higher, the report says the number upheld in absolute terms is higher too. Researcher Chris Schmitz similarly told the report that most cases in his study involved people claiming something they were entitled to.
The policy choice is therefore not simply about reducing workload. Restrictions such as fees or extra steps may reduce submissions, but could also deter eligible claimants. A longer-term question is whether services designed around letters and essays can cope with tools that make drafting much easier.
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FOI Rules and the Agent Shift
In May, the Information Commissioner’s Office issued guidance after public authorities reported increased volumes of AI-written FOI requests, including more complex requests and submissions that misquoted legislation or needed clarification. The ICO’s guidance says AI-written requests remain valid. Authorities do not need to establish who or what wrote them, though they may ask for clarification when a request is unclear or badly formed.
The trend may extend beyond people using chatbots to draft text. Manthorpe’s report demonstrates a Meta agent service that can act for a user, rather than only compose a letter. The report raises examples such as automated appeals against parking tickets and claims for compensation after rail delays; these are illustrations of possible future use, not evidence that such activity is already widespread.
Sky News also cites a paper by Chris Schmitz, reported by TechCrunch in September, identifying 84 possible cases of “agentic flooding” across 11 jurisdictions. The paper describes many cases as broadly flat before 2022 and rising afterward. The report gives the UK Housing Ombudsman as one example: complaints rose from about 2,600 in 2022 to just over 7,000 last year. It also says complaints to the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau grew fivefold.
“It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.”
— Civil servants surveyed in an academic study cited by Sky News
AI’s Role Is Not Yet Proven
The reported timing and similar patterns across services do not prove that ChatGPT or other AI tools caused the increases. Complaint volumes can be affected by service-specific problems, changes in public awareness, policy or reporting practices, and other factors. The source material does not provide a causal study that separates those explanations.
The AI-text-checker results are also limited: detectors can misclassify writing, and a sample of 100 recent FOI requests cannot establish the share of all submissions written with AI. The civil-servant survey shows that many respondents perceive a significant effect on their work, but the cited material does not provide the survey’s sample size or full methodology.
It remains unclear how quickly AI agents will move from demonstrations to routine use in filing complaints or claims, and how much additional workload they would create. The source material also does not set out a detailed government plan to redesign application processes around structured data.
Service Design Faces the Next Test
The near-term response will be shaped by how public bodies apply existing rules. The ICO’s guidance says authorities can seek clarification on poorly formed FOI requests, but cannot reject a request simply because AI helped write it. The available material does not announce a new nationwide policy or a timetable for changing complaint and claims systems.
Loosemore’s proposed direction is to replace essay-style applications with services that collect structured information, rather than relying on people to explain a case in free-form text. That would address the paperwork bottleneck differently from adding barriers, although the report does not specify a government programme or implementation plan.
For now, the next test is whether public bodies can distinguish valid requests from unclear or unsupported submissions while maintaining access for people entitled to complain or appeal. More data on outcomes, workload and the use of AI agents will be needed to show whether the increases reflect unmet need, new service pressures, or both.
Key Questions
What did the Sky News report find?
It found that several types of written complaints, FOI requests and tribunal claims have increased since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. Reported increases differ by channel, and the timing does not by itself prove AI caused them.
Does the report prove that AI caused the rise?
No. The report describes a pattern that began after ChatGPT’s launch, but it does not establish causation. Each service may have separate reasons for a rise in complaints, and the AI-detector test cited in the report is not conclusive.
Are AI-written FOI requests valid?
According to guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office in May, AI-written requests remain valid. Authorities do not need to identify who or what wrote them, but may ask for clarification if a request is unclear or badly formed.
Are the new complaints mostly frivolous?
The source material does not support that conclusion. The share of DWP complaints upheld has fallen to close to 40%, according to Sky News, but the report says the larger volume means more complaints are upheld in absolute terms. Researcher Chris Schmitz also says most cases in his study involved people entitled to make a claim.
What change do critics of paperwork barriers propose?
Tom Loosemore argues that services should rely less on essays and written applications and more on structured data. The report does not describe a confirmed national plan or timeline for adopting that approach.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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