UK Public Bodies Swamped by AI-Generated Complaints, Report Says

Public bodies across the UK are struggling with a surge in complaints and correspondence written by artificial intelligence, according to a Guardian report. Commenters have dubbed the phenomenon "AI clog."

Hollie Wickens, a senior caseworker in a Labour MP's office, said about half the emails her office receives are some form of AI, making them more complex and time-consuming to handle. Deborah Evans of Lawyers in Local Government said every sector is seeing similar issues, with complaints that once averaged two pages now often ten times longer - one reaching about 200 pages.

The Information Commissioner's Office found many authorities received more requests in 2025, noting AI-generated ones can be long, repetitive and hard to parse. Transport for London logged a record 4,769 freedom of information requests in 2025-26, and its audit committee noted a rise in appeals that appeared AI-generated.

Employment tribunal claims opened between April and June rose 28% year on year, to 14,000 single-claimant cases. Some ombudsman services are now imposing word limits, while councils are exploring AI tools to summarise long emails.