{"id":39835,"date":"2026-05-18T14:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/39835\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T14:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:02:19","slug":"answers-in-seconds-24-7-gov-uk-chat-launches-in-the-gov-uk-app-government-digital-service-gds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/39835\/","title":{"rendered":"Answers in seconds, 24\/7: GOV.UK Chat launches in the GOV.UK app | Government Digital Service (GDS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blog posted by:\u00a0Shelina Hargrove, Deputy Director for GOV.UK AI, GDS<\/a>,\u00a014 May 2026\u00a0\u2013\u00a0AI<\/a>,\u00a0GOV.UK<\/a>,\u00a0Transformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

People\u2019s expectations of digital services are changing – including their expectations of government. Research consistently shows that more people are becoming familiar with AI-powered tools in their everyday lives. Recent figures\u00a0published by Ofcom<\/a>\u00a0suggest that just over\u00a0half\u00a0of adults (54%) say they use AI tools, compared to 3 in 10 (31%) the year before, and that three-quarters of online adults (75%) read AI-generated search summaries at least sometimes. This growing familiarity means many users now expect services to meet them in a more conversational, responsive way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0officially\u00a0launching\u00a0GOV.UK Chat in the GOV.UK app to do just that. This is a new way for people to get answers from government using everyday language, through the convenience of their phones, at whatever time suits them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is the biggest change to how people can interact with\u00a0government\u00a0content since the\u00a0GOV.UK\u00a0site was launched in 2012. Instead of navigating or searching 80,000 pages of guidance, users can now\u00a0use the app to\u00a0ask a question and get a conversational response, grounded in official government information\u00a0and\u00a0remaining\u00a0firmly\u00a0rooted in the principles\u00a0of\u00a0clarity,\u00a0accuracy\u00a0and trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This supports the vision set out in the\u00a0roadmap for a modern digital government<\/a>\u00a0– we are creating a new generation of personalised, joined-up public services, which make it easier for people to find what they need, when they need it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0launching GOV.UK Chat now\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re\u00a0releasing GOV.UK Chat\u00a0in the GOV.UK app\u00a0following a period of careful testing that has given us confidence to make it more widely available. We used the Scan > Pilot > Scale approach set out in the\u00a0AI Opportunities Plan<\/a>, a way of working that included one of the largest user research studies GDS has\u00a0ever\u00a0undertaken.\u00a0We\u2019ve\u00a0previously written about the\u00a0key things we\u2019ve learned<\/a>\u00a0during our research and testing over the last couple of years, and how these insights have informed our delivery approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since the soft launch\u00a0on 26 March 2026, GOV.UK Chat has been available to\u00a0GOV.UK app\u00a0users without any proactive communications. This allowed us to\u00a0observe\u00a0how people used the service in real conditions, ensure our safety measures are working as planned, learn where Chat is working best and\u00a0identify\u00a0potential improvement areas. In the weeks that have followed the soft launch:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tmore than 7,800\u00a0people have used GOV.UK Chat\u00a0
\n\tit has handled more than 15,000 questions\u00a0
\n\twe’re\u00a0seeing the same level of performance that we achieved in our recent pilot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What people are using GOV.UK Chat for\u00a0<\/p>\n

During our testing, GOV.UK Chat has proved particularly helpful for people navigating common but complex life moments, such as:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tbecoming a new parent and understanding childcare support\u00a0
\n\tbuying a home for the first time\u00a0
\n\texploring apprenticeships or understanding income tax\u00a0
\n\tplanning for retirement and understanding the State Pension.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since the soft release\u00a0demand has been strongest for answers relating to tax, driving and transport, and benefits.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

In user research sessions, people told us they valued:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tbeing able to ask questions \u2018in plain English\u2019\u00a0
\n\tgetting a clear starting point without feeling overwhelmed\u00a0
\n\thaving direct links back to the source guidance on GOV.UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The insights we are gaining are shaping how we continue to develop the service, so that we can expand the features and functionality of GOV.UK Chat in the ways that will help people most.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Built with safety,\u00a0trust\u00a0and transparency at its core\u00a0<\/p>\n

We know trust matters, especially when introducing\u00a0new technology\u00a0into public services.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why GOV.UK Chat has been designed with strong safeguards:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tit clearly signposts when users should check the original guidance\u00a0
\n\tit does not\u00a0attempt\u00a0to provide advice\u00a0
\n\tit is\u00a0monitored\u00a0and evaluated to ensure accuracy and safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before releasing GOV.UK Chat, we worked with security experts, including the AI Security Institute (AISI), to carry out thorough safety checks and test the system’s strength against potential risks. We also made privacy a key priority throughout development – GOV.UK Chat lets people know they should not share personal information, as well as ensuring the system filters out any personal information that may be provided.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s\u00a0next\u00a0<\/p>\n

This launch marks the start of a\u00a0change in how people\u00a0can choose to\u00a0interact with government. Right now, GOV.UK Chat helps users find and understand trusted information. In the future, we plan to build on this foundation and add further features\u00a0to help give people their time back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll\u00a0continue to learn from how people use GOV.UK Chat in the app, improve the quality of responses, and explore how it can better support onward journeys when people need to contact departments or services directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most importantly,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0keep listening to users – and using what we learn to make\u00a0public services\u00a0work better for everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To access\u00a0GOV.UK\u00a0Chat, download the\u00a0GOV.UK\u00a0app. More information on how to do this is on\u00a0GOV.UK<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blog posted by:\u00a0Shelina Hargrove, Deputy Director for GOV.UK AI, GDS,\u00a014 May 2026\u00a0\u2013\u00a0AI,\u00a0GOV.UK,\u00a0Transformation. People\u2019s expectations of digital services are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[1418,20257,20258,20259,10605,20260,20255,20261,1532,4264,3891,20256,20254,181,20262,20263,10815,635,12629,5,6],"class_list":["post-39835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-ai","tag-aisi","tag-answers","tag-before","tag-blog","tag-built","tag-chat","tag-deputy","tag-digital","tag-director","tag-english","tag-gds","tag-gov","tag-government","tag-hargrove","tag-instead","tag-institute","tag-march","tag-monday","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116595952368430186","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}