AI Speeds UK Building

Whitehall has unveiled 'Extract', an AI tool designed to accelerate building projects across the UK. Extract aims to modernise council planning processes by digitising historical paperwork, including maps and handwritten notes, converting them into clear, digital data in approximately 40 seconds. This significantly reduces the time planners spend on these tasks, freeing them up to focus on building the homes Britain needs. The tool is currently being tested and could be available to councils later this year.

The AI is intended to provide higher quality data to councils, enabling them to make faster and smarter planning decisions. By extracting key information from thousands of files, Extract helps to cut delays and reduce errors, supporting the government's target of building 1.5 million new homes. The technology has potential applications across the public sector, as location-specific data is used to deliver services and inform government policy decisions. The government hopes that Extract will tackle backlogs, inefficiencies and waste and ensure councils are focusing precious time and resources on efficiently determining applications to build new homes.