Artificial intelligence tools are significantly increasing the volume of requests submitted to public services worldwide. Since the launch of ChatGPT, the UK’s housing ombudsman saw complaints more than double from 2,600 in 2022 to over 7,000 last year, while the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau experienced fivefold growth in complaints. Similar patterns of rising petitions and applications have been documented in Brazil and Germany. Researcher Chris Schmitz is studying this phenomenon, which he terms "agentic flooding," highlighting how AI is reshaping public interactions across eleven jurisdictions through 84 different cases.

Schmitz’s research, scheduled for presentation at the upcoming AI Ethics and Society conference, shows that these surges generally began after 2022 and continue to increase, coinciding with the diffusion of AI technologies. The trend is driven by AI’s growing capabilities, simplifying complicated form filings that once deterred many from applying for benefits or lodging complaints. Unlike low-quality spam floods seen in other sectors, most AI-assisted submissions to public services represent legitimate claims from individuals entitled to them but previously hindered by administrative obstacles.

This influx poses challenges for public agencies, which must handle vastly more applications without corresponding increases in resources. The similarity to the surge in AI-generated bug reports in the cybersecurity field last year is striking, where organizations faced substantial vetting burdens despite little actionable value in many submissions. However, Schmitz views this as an opportunity rather than purely a strain, suggesting that AI can help transform how social services are accessed and administered, reducing barriers for users and improving efficiency.

The critical question now is how governments will adapt to this new landscape. Schmitz advocates for a comprehensive reevaluation of public services that leverages AI to enhance rather than overwhelm existing systems. He believes this moment could mark a turning point toward more accessible, AI-powered social support structures aligned with modern technology, benefiting both claimants and administrators while fostering a more equitable approach to public assistance.