Scottish council using AI to write reports

Aberdeenshire Council is using artificial intelligence (AI) to write and summarise reports, Holyrood can reveal.

Writing for Holyrood’s Local Authorities Guide, Aberdeenshire Council leader Gillian Owen revealed Microsoft Copilot is being “embedded” in day-to-day work.

She said: “It is an essential AI assistant to support officer activity like writing minutes and action notes, preparing presentations and writing reports.”

It comes as other council leaders told Holyrood they are turning to technology to plug significant gaps in resources.

Owen added councillors are also using the tool to respond to constituents in “a clear and concise manner” as well as to record and transcribe meetings.

It mirrors a similar move towards AI models south of the border. Earlier this year, the UK Government announced a set of tools to streamline policymaking and data-sharing.

One tool, Redblox, is expected to summarise policy and prepare briefings, while another, Parlex, will analyse past Common’s debates to predict when policy could face significant opposition from MPs.