'AI clog': UK public bodies battle flood of chatbot-generated complaints

Briefing by News4U · First published

The Guardian reported on Sunday that UK public bodies are being overwhelmed by chatbot-generated complaints, a problem commentators call "AI clog." Hollie Wickens, a senior caseworker in a Labour MP's office, said half the emails received are some form of AI. Deborah Evans, chief executive of Lawyers in Local Government, which represents 5,600 lawyers, said every sector faces similar issues and that complaints once averaging about two pages are now mostly 10 times longer, with one about 200 pages. Transport for London received a record 4,769 freedom of information requests in 2025-26, a 5% increase on the previous peak, and reported a noted increase in appeals that appeared to be generated by AI. [1]

Sources

  1. ‘AI clog’: UK public bodies battle onslaught of chatbot-generated complaints

    The Guardian Business · · Full text

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