The Scottish Government has completed its first trial of an artificial intelligence tool designed to summarise public responses to policy consultations. The tool, known as Consult, was used during a recent consultation on how to regulate non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as lip fillers and laser hair removal. According to the government, the AI-generated results were nearly […]
The Scottish Government has completed its first trial of an artificial intelligence tool designed to summarise public responses to policy consultations.
The tool, known as Consult, was used during a recent consultation on how to regulate non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as lip fillers and laser hair removal. According to the government, the AI-generated results were nearly identical to those produced by human officials.
Consult analysed more than 2,000 responses using generative AI, identifying key themes across six consultation questions.
These themes were then reviewed and refined by government experts, allowing civil servants to focus on in-depth evaluations.
Although this was the tool’s first use, each individual response was also reviewed manually. The government reported that human reviewers generally agreed with the AI-generated themes, with any differences having “a negligible impact on how themes were ranked overall.”
Following the successful trial, the UK Government now plans to roll out the tool across departments. The report said the move could save “millions of pounds” by reducing the need to outsource analysis to external contractors.
Consult is part of a broader suite of AI tools known as Humphrey, reportedly named after Sir Humphrey Appleby, the high-ranking fictional civil servant in the TV political satire Yes, Prime Minister, who became synonymous with all-powerful officialdom.
The tools are aimed at boosting civil service efficiency and reducing operational costs.
“No one should be wasting time on something AI can do quicker and better,” said Technology Secretary Peter Kyle.
“After demonstrating such promising results, Humphrey will help us cut the costs of governing and make it easier to collect and comprehensively review input from experts and the public on a range of crucial issues.”
The government conducts around 500 consultations annually, with some attracting tens or even hundreds of thousands of responses. Under the current system, civil servants manually review each submission.
The government estimates that AI could help save around 75,000 working days per year, equivalent to £20 million in staffing costs.
