According to a 2021 study from global research and innovation consultancy, BIT, UK adults spend an estimated three billion hours on government-related admin a year - equating to 56 hours per UK adult, per year.
Today, new efforts from the government have been announced which could lead to a reduction in the time small businesses have to deal with bureaucracy. GOV.UK Chat, its experimental chatbot, is to enter the next stage of its development, which will see up to 15,000 business users test it out.
Earlier trials showed strong user satisfaction as over two-thirds found it helpful, with improvements made since then to boost its accuracy. The move comes as the Science Secretary, Peter Kyle, commits to experiment with new technologies to improve government services, in a bid to slash the amount of time citizens spend on bureaucracy. Thousands of small businesses will be able to get help and advice through the generative AI chatbot, making it easier and quicker to find information.
Triallists will be able to ask the tool for advice on business rules and support, with the chatbot linked from 30 the government’s website business pages. People in the trial can ask questions about topics such as setting up a business and tax, and the relevant support available to them.
Data scientists, developers and designers are building the experimental tool using OpenAI’s GPT-4o technology, which aims to help people more quickly navigate complex advice to understand what matters to them. In response, they will receive straightforward, personalised answers that collate information that may otherwise be spread across dozens of pages, the government says.
Trial results will determine the next steps which could include potential larger-scale testing. This could ultimately lead to the chatbot being rolled out across the full government website, which is made up of 700,000 pages.
Peter Kyle said: “Outdated and bulky processes waste people’s time too often, with the average adult in the UK spending the equivalent of a working week and a half dealing with public sector bureaucracy every year. We’re going to change this by experimenting with emerging technology to find new ways to save time and make lives easier.
“This is an essential part of our ambition to use AI to improve public services in a safe and reliable way, making sure the UK government leads by example in driving innovation forward.”
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