A UK government-built generative AI tool has been used for the first time to analyse responses to a public consultation, marking a major step toward automating time-consuming administrative processes across the civil service.
Named Consult, the tool is part of the ‘Humphrey’ suite of AI technologies designed to help government departments reduce reliance on contractors and speed up policymaking.
During a recent live test, Consult reviewed more than 2,000 responses to a Scottish government consultation on non-surgical cosmetic procedures, identifying key themes with an accuracy closely matching human analysts.
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The AI’s performance was measured against manual reviews using the F1 score metric, with Consult achieving a score of 0.76 – considered a strong result in AI classification tasks.
Officials confirmed that the tool allowed them to “get to the analysis” quicker and saved “a heck of a lot of time”.
While still in trial, the tool is seen as a significant enabler of a more agile and efficient public sector.
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The UK government reportedly runs around 500 consultations annually, with analysis currently consuming an estimated 75,000 days of staff time and costing £20m each year.
Consult aims to drastically cut this burden, freeing up civil servants to focus on higher-value policy development.
UK technology secretary Peter Kyle said the tool will soon be rolled out to more departments: “No one should be wasting time on something AI can do quicker and better.”
While the AI automates early analysis, human oversight remains central. Officials can interact with a dashboard to refine and explore insights, ensuring that policy decisions remain grounded in qualitative rigour and transparency.
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