Automation and generative AI (genAI) adoption could save public sector employees as much as 23 million hours a week, a new Microsoft report finds.

The automation of routine bureaucratic processes would leave public servants – such as nurses, doctors, social care workers, and council employees – freer to concentrate on higher value activities, saving four hours a week per person on average, the report claims.

The UK’s public sector could save £17bn by 2035 by adopting GenAI tools, but a five-year delay in implementation could see the country foregoing £150bn in economic benefit, the report warns.

Developed by Dr Chris Brauer, director of innovation at Goldsmiths, University of London, the research features in Microsoft’s new report, Harnessing the Power of AI for the Public Sector.

“Effective AI implementation can drastically reduce administrative burdens, enabling frontline workers to focus more on essential services,” said Hugh Milward, vice president, external affairs, Microsoft UK.

Managing information and data is the administrative task taking up the biggest proportion of time across the public sector, taking on average over eight hours from a worker each week, the study found.

Around 45% of public sector respondents say they are ‘drowning in unnecessary administrative tasks’ and 55% say bureaucracy negatively affects their ability to perform their primary job functions.

But the report claims that using generative AI tools can save doctors four hours in admin time each week, nurses five hours, teachers two hours, and police officers 6.5 hours.

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Dr Brauer said: “Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) mark an inflection point for public sector organisations across the world.

“Generative AI and large language models (LLMs) wield transformative potential to reshape government operations and redefine the future of public service delivery.

“Governments cannot afford to remain frozen as AI transforms the world around us.”

Some local councils, including Aberdeen’s, have already adopted generative AI tools to streamline many routine tasks, from taking minutes at meetings to answering queries from the public.