Hundreds of social workers in England have begun using an AI system called Magic Notes to record conversations, draft letters, and propose actions.

Implemented across councils in Swindon, Barnet, Kingston, and four other locations, the AI sits on phones to summarize face-to-face meetings and suggest follow-ups, potentially saving up to £2bn annually, according to Beam, the company behind it.

While the British Association of Social Workers supports tools that free up time, they stress the importance of human decision-making.

The London Borough of Camden's impact assessment highlighted the AI's potential to suggest unforeseen actions.

Beam states that all AI-generated actions must be approved by humans.

Swindon council finds the tool particularly useful for workers with dyslexia.

Wiltshire council and the London Borough of Barnet emphasize that final decisions remain with practitioners.

The UK National Audit Office indicates that many government departments are piloting AI, but challenges like aging IT systems and data quality issues remain.

The AI system, using technology from Deepgram and OpenAI, stores sensitive data on Beam's UK servers without using it to train other systems.

There are calls for regulated AI use and ethical transparency as the technology moves forward.