🔍 Read the full analysis: Why Friction Isn’t Enough To Stem AI Paperwork In Britain on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
A Sky News report published October 20, 2026, documents rising written complaints, FOI requests and employment tribunal claims across Britain since ChatGPT launched. The pattern is consistent with AI making formal submissions easier, but the data do not prove AI caused the increases; evidence cited in the report suggests many complaints reflect legitimate claims.
A Sky News report published October 20 found that complaints, Freedom of Information requests and employment tribunal claims have risen across several UK public-service channels since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The figures show a similar upward pattern in different systems, but do not establish that AI caused the increases; the report says the trend may reflect both easier access to formal complaints and genuine problems people are seeking to resolve.
Data reviewed by Sky News show increases since ChatGPT’s launch in written complaints about water companies (144%), English local authorities (78%), GP practices (71%) and the Department for Work and Pensions (64%). The report also lists a 62% increase in individual employment tribunal claims, 49% in complaints about legal services, 35% in written NHS complaints, 34% in police complaints and 23% in complaints about public services. These are reported growth figures; the source material does not give the underlying counts or a single common measurement window for every category.
Technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe describes a repeated pattern: volumes were broadly flat for years, then began rising around late 2022 and accelerated. Each channel has its own possible causes. Water companies, for example, have faced difficult years, and the parallel timing alone cannot show that chatbot use produced the increases.
Manthorpe also tested 100 recent FOI requests with an AI-text detector. The tool labelled 89% fully AI-written and 9% human-written; a smaller sample from 2019 was labelled entirely human. He cautioned that AI detectors are unreliable and that the test is not proof of causation. A survey of civil servants cited by Sky News found 58% said AI-generated material from the public significantly affected 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, Same Public-Service Capacity
The figures matter because many public services still depend on people writing letters, forms and appeals, while staff must read and respond to them. Generative AI can reduce the effort involved in making a submission, potentially bringing forward cases that people previously found too difficult to put into formal language. At the same time, a sharp rise in correspondence can add to workloads and slow responses for claimants and other service users.
The central policy choice is not simply how to control volume. If a substantial share of new complaints concerns valid problems, added barriers could keep people with legitimate claims from accessing redress. Sky News reports that the proportion of DWP complaints upheld has fallen from somewhere in the 50s to close to 40%. That is a lower success rate, but the larger volume means the absolute number of upheld complaints may still be higher; the report does not provide the counts needed to calculate that total precisely.
The issue could grow as AI systems move from drafting text to taking actions for users. Automated appeals or compensation claims may make routine processes easier to access, but could also send far more submissions into systems designed around human-written paperwork. The report frames this as a challenge to service design, not just a problem of detecting machine-written text.
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From Chatbots to Automated Claims
The Information Commissioner’s Office published guidance in May on AI-generated FOI requests, following reports from public authorities of increased volumes and more complex submissions. Some requests, the authorities told the ICO, misquoted legislation or needed substantial clarification. The regulator said AI-written requests remain valid, authorities do not need to identify whether a person or AI wrote them, and they may seek clarification when a request is unclear.
The report also cites research by Chris Schmitz, covered by TechCrunch in September, which describes 84 possible cases of “agentic flooding” across 11 jurisdictions. The source says most cases were roughly flat before 2022 and rose afterwards. In the UK, the Housing Ombudsman received about 2,600 complaints in 2022 and just over 7,000 the following year, according to the material provided. The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s complaints grew fivefold, it says. These examples point to a wider pattern, but do not establish one cause for every increase.
So far, much AI assistance involves people asking a chatbot to draft text and then submitting it themselves. Manthorpe’s report demonstrates an AI agent service from Meta that can act on a user’s behalf. That shift—from helping write a request to initiating actions—could make the volume and speed of submissions harder for existing processes to handle.
“It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.”
— Civil servants surveyed in an academic study cited by Sky News
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Cause, Volume and Validity
The reported timing and cross-channel pattern do not prove that ChatGPT or other AI tools caused the growth. The source material does not provide full underlying counts, detailed methods for all categories or a way to separate AI-assisted submissions from other reasons for increased complaints. The detector test is limited and, as Manthorpe notes, AI-detection tools can be unreliable.
It is also unclear how many new submissions are justified, how many require correction or clarification, and how much additional staff time they consume. The DWP uphold rate offers one measure of outcomes, but a lower percentage does not by itself show whether the total number of valid complaints rose or fell. The report’s claim that many submissions concern genuine needs is supported by the cited researcher’s analysis, but the available figures do not establish the validity of every complaint or claim.
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Redesigning Forms and Services
The immediate response from public bodies remains guided by existing rules, including the ICO’s position that an AI-written FOI request is still a valid request. The next test is whether agencies can process higher volumes without excluding people who have legitimate complaints or slowing other services.
Loosemore argues for replacing essay-style processes with services based on structured data, so people can provide information in a consistent format rather than composing long submissions. He calls adding friction a “terrible, terrible decision,” saying technology companies are likely to find ways around barriers. The report does not set out a government plan or timetable for such a redesign. It leaves open how public bodies will balance access, staff capacity, and the risk of automated systems submitting claims at scale.
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Key Questions
What did the Sky News report find?
It found that written complaints, FOI requests and employment tribunal claims rose across several UK channels after ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The reported increases vary by category, and the timing does not prove AI caused them.
Do the figures prove AI is responsible for the rise?
No. They show a similar upward pattern across multiple channels, but the report says the pattern is not conclusive evidence of causation. Other issues, including service-specific problems, may also affect complaint levels.
Are AI-written FOI requests valid?
According to guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office published in May, AI-written requests remain valid. Authorities do not need to determine who or what wrote one, and may ask for clarification if it is poorly formed or unclear.
Are the additional complaints mostly fake?
The report does not establish that. It cites researcher Chris Schmitz’s view that most cases in his analysis involved people claiming something they were entitled to claim. The available evidence does not determine the validity of every submission.
What response does the report discuss?
Tom Loosemore argues that public services should use structured data rather than relying on essay-style applications. The report also describes friction-based measures, but does not identify a government-wide redesign plan or timetable.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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