UK plans to use AI for everything from moving home to career guidance
AI agents could soon take on boring life admin by dealing with public services on your behalf – from filling in forms to completing applications and booking appointments, as the UK Government plans trials to save people time and modernise the state.
Agentic AI is unique in that it can reliably complete basic admin tasks for people as well as provide tailored support for them, by putting in a prompt and watching it do the work for them.
Acting on behalf of people, AI agents from private companies can be used to book flights, shop around for the best deal online, or book restaurants and activities from a holiday itinerary.
On Monday (18 August), the government will invite specialist companies that have started working with this type of cutting-edge AI to team up with in-house Whitehall experts to test this technology together.
This includes exploring if agentic AI can help get young people into work by supporting them to take the next step in their education, find the best apprenticeship for their circumstances, provide custom career guidance, and more.
In the first instance, the tool could be trialled to help people with employment and skills, but if successful, the government will experiment to see if agentic AI can help with other life milestones.
For example, when moving home, a government-built AI agent could help you update an address on your digital driving licence, register you with a new GP, register you in the correct constituency to vote, and more.
“We can entirely rethink and reshape how public services help people through crucial life moments using the power of emerging AI technology,” said UK Technology Secretary Peter Kyle.
“Using agentic AI to its full potential, we could provide a level of service to citizens across the country that was previously unimaginable – helping people to find better career opportunities, avoid wasting their time on government admin, and more.”
He added that the government is asking the world’s brightest AI developers to work in collaboration with the government’s own AI teams as it tests how valuable their latest tech can be in helping people in their day-to-day lives.
“At each step, we’ll only progress if the technology can be used safely and reliably – but if it works, we could be the first country in the world to use AI agents at scale,” he said.
