AI tools have been used to review public responses to government consultations for the first time and will now be launched more widely to save money and employees’ time.

The tool, known as “consultation”, is first and foremost when the Scottish government seeks the view that regulates non-surgical makeup procedures, such as lip fillers.

The UK government said the tool analyzed the responses and was able to produce the same results as human officials, and will now be used to review responses to other consultants, while also further development.

While reviewing more than 2,000 responses, the consultation identified key topics and was then examined and refined by experts from the Scottish Government.

The government-established consulting firm will become consulting in its new AI tool package, nicknamed "Humphrey", which they claim will "accelerate work at Whitehall and reduce consulting spending".

They claim that the new tool will save UK taxpayers £20 million a year in 500 consultations they conduct annually and about 75,000 hours for government officials to focus on other work.

Michael Rovatsos, a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Edinburgh School of Information, said he believes the rewards of consultation can be large, but the risks of bias affecting AI should not be ignored.

“While the idea in principle is that humans will always be in a loop, the reality is that one doesn’t always have a lot of time to check every time, and that’s when prejudice will spread.”

Rovatsos also said that "bad actors" at home and abroad can affect the integrity of AI through prompts.

“You will have to invest in making sure the system is safe and solid, and it will take time and time,” he said.

"I think it takes much more upfront investment and learning to unlock benefits and avoid hazards than it looks at first. Ministers and civil servants may see it as a quick solution to save money, but it's essential to do it well, it's essential."

The government claims that consulting will work 1,000 times faster than humans and will be 400 times cheaper, with a conclusion "very similar" to what experts have achieved, but in a short time.

Technical Secretary Peter Kyle said in launching the consultation that the consultation would save taxpayers “millions”.

“No one should waste time on AI that can do it faster and better, let alone waste millions of taxpayers outsourcing this kind of work to contractors.

“After proving such promising results, Humphrey will help us cut management costs and make it easier to collect and comprehensively review what experts and the public are telling us on a range of important issues.

"The Scottish government has taken a bold first step. Soon I will use consulting in my own department within Humphrey, and other departments in Whitehall will use it - speed up our work to implement the change plan."

There is currently no fixed consultation date, which is still in its trial phase, implemented in government work, but it is believed that it can be deployed in government offices by the end of 2025.