The UK Government has revealed new data demonstrating how its in-house artificial intelligence (AI) tools are cutting costs and boosting efficiency across public services, following a successful trial in analysing tens of thousands of consultation responses.
The government’s specialist AI system, developed as part of its “Humphrey” digital tools suite, played a central role in processing feedback for the Independent Water Commission — a consultation that informed the decision to abolish Ofwat, the water regulator.
Processing public consultation responses can typically take months of manual work by civil servants. In this case, the AI tool, known as Consult, categorised more than 50,000 responses in just two hours at a total cost of £240. Policy experts then spent an additional 22 hours validating the AI’s results, allowing analysts to concentrate on policy insight rather than administrative sorting.
A performance comparison revealed that the AI system agreed with at least one human expert team 83% of the time. The two human teams, by contrast, agreed with each other only 55% of the time — suggesting that the system not only increased efficiency but also improved consistency in analysis.
Civil servants also conducted manual reviews of stakeholder submissions to ensure complex or nuanced feedback was fully considered in final policy decisions. Officials said the combination of automation and expert oversight allowed for more thorough and timely policy evaluation.
The Consult tool has already been successfully used in other government consultations, including the Scottish Government’s inquiry into non-surgical cosmetics and the UK’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan. In both cases, officials reported major time savings and improved accuracy in analysis.
According to internal government estimates, deploying the system across departments could save up to 75,000 days of manual analysis annually — equivalent to around £20 million in staffing costs.
Digital Government Minister Ian Murray said the initiative highlights how technology can improve both service quality and value for money. “This demonstrates the huge potential for technology and innovation to deliver better public services,” he said. “By taking on basic administrative work, tools like Consult free up staff to focus on fixing public services and making smarter, faster decisions.”
The AI system forms part of the wider Humphrey programme — a framework for developing and deploying advanced digital tools within government. Other AI applications in the suite include Redbox, which helped more than 5,000 officials summarise lengthy documents and prepare briefings before being released as open-source software.
Building on these successes, the government is now working on a new generation of “AI Exemplars” — projects designed to demonstrate how artificial intelligence can accelerate policy delivery. Planned initiatives include AI tools to speed up housing planning decisions and support probation officers in engaging more effectively with offenders.
A new generative AI-powered assistant, GOV.UK Chat, is also being developed for the GOV.UK app and is expected to begin pilot testing soon.
