AI boosts FOI volume
Hertfordshire County Council reports a rise in more complex Freedom of Information requests because AI tools make it easier for citizens to generate and submit them. That example shows how public bodies can face higher volumes of sophisticated queries even without directly deploying AI themselves. (thecomet.net)
A county council in England says artificial intelligence is already changing government work even when the government itself did not buy the software. Hertfordshire County Council told councillors that Freedom of Information requests have become “more complex” as artificial intelligence is used to generate broader questions. (thecomet.net) The same report said the council received close to 600 Freedom of Information requests in October to December 2025. In July to September 2025, the figure was closer to 400, according to the charts reported from the council papers. (bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk) A Freedom of Information request is a legal demand for records held by a public body. Hertfordshire’s own website says a valid request can be as simple as a written email or letter that names the requester, gives a contact address, and describes the information wanted. (hertfordshire.gov.uk) That low barrier is the whole point of the law, but it also means a chatbot can draft a request in seconds. A resident who once might have sent one short question can now ask for timelines, contractor emails, policy drafts, and meeting records in one polished message. (hertfordshire.gov.uk) Public bodies in the United Kingdom do have escape valves, but they are narrow. The Information Commissioner’s Office says authorities can refuse requests that are “vexatious” under section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and can also rely on cost limits in other cases, but they cannot reject a request just because it looks low-value or annoying. (ico.org.uk) The pressure point is not only the number of requests but the shape of them. Hertfordshire’s report said the newer requests are “more wide-ranging and difficult to respond to,” which means more staff time spent searching inboxes, checking exemptions, and coordinating replies across departments. (bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk) This is why the story is bigger than one council in one county. If one person with a chatbot can produce the kind of request that used to take a campaign group or a lawyer an afternoon, every town hall, police force, hospital trust, and ministry can see the same jump in workload without changing a single internal system. (thecomet.net; ico.org.uk) Hertfordshire already publishes many documents through its open data and publication scheme, including annual reports, plans, and policy documents. The more governments publish by default, the fewer bespoke searches staff have to run when a chatbot-written request lands in the inbox. (hertfordshire.gov.uk) So the first visible effect of artificial intelligence on government may be administrative rather than futuristic. Before a council uses artificial intelligence to answer citizens, citizens are using artificial intelligence to ask the council harder questions. (thecomet.net)
