What happened

TfL reports a rise in FOI appeals written with AI assistance. The AI helps generate long, technical objections quickly, creating large volumes of paperwork that TfL staff must read and evaluate. This has increased workload and complexity for processing requests.

Why it matters

The speed and volume of AI-assisted drafts can overwhelm processing systems and obscure clear arguments. The article notes TfL considering templates to sharpen focus and reduce unnecessary points.

TfL has seen more FOI appeals and related paperwork as people turn to AI to draft objections. The AI can assemble many facts, precedents, and arguments rapidly, but the resulting documents can be overly long and sometimes misleading, forcing staff to sift through dense material.

The utility of AI in drafting is mixed: it can save time for some people, but it can also impose more work on agencies as they separate valid points from noise, and verify accuracy amid a flood of pages.

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What this does not tell us

Based on a single source describing TfL’s experience; not a comprehensive study of AI-assisted FOI practices.

FOR PEOPLE

Benefits reported

People gain a new capability to draft appeals with AI assistance, extending their workflow.

FOR AI AND ITS OPERATORS

Benefits reported

AI-enabled drafting outputs enable faster, more voluminous content creation, expanding its operational reach.

These are two separate readings of what the sources describe. Reported claims and risks do not by themselves establish a real-world effect.

Original sources · 1
  1. TfL facing surge in FOI appeals as people turn to Artificial Intelligence ↗ianVisits · 2026-09-02

Reporting discovered in United Kingdom. Discovery market does not mean the event happened there.