The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has sought information from digital rights group Open Rights Group (ORG) as it develops next year's inspection priorities, raising the prospect of a formal look at the Home Office's use of artificial intelligence in asylum cases. The inspectorate has not confirmed an investigation.

The development follows ORG's report, "Automated Discrimination: Unpacking the Digital Hostile Environment", which says AI has been built into a wide range of Home Office immigration work with little public disclosure. The report draws on published Home Office material, freedom of information requests, parliamentary questions and ministerial letters.

Where AI is said to be used

According to the report, AI is used to flag suspected sham marriages, to assess the age of asylum seekers and to search the phones of new arrivals, as well as in border surveillance through live facial recognition, drones and satellite imagery. In casework, two tools are central: Asylum Case Summarisation, which summarises interview transcripts, and Asylum Policy Search, which finds and summarises country policy information used as evidence.

The tools, built on OpenAI's GPT-4 model and Microsoft Foundry, were piloted from late 2024. Government estimates cited in the reporting suggest using them together could save about an hour per case. Cases are also sorted and assessed by a tool known as Identify and Prioritise Immigration Cases (Ipic), which ORG describes as opaque.

The Home Office said AI helps protect the borders but does not replace human decision-makers, that trained caseworkers make every asylum decision, and that it monitors the tools and has promised updated evaluations. The report has cross-party backing from Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, SNP MP Pete Wishart and Green MP Siân Berry.

Note: This article is general information only and is not immigration advice. Anyone affected by an asylum or immigration decision should check GOV.UK or consult a regulated immigration adviser.

Sources: PYMNTS and Oossa, reporting WIRED and The Guardian's coverage of the Open Rights Group report. Official background: GOV.UK: Inspection report published — an inspection of asylum casework (June – December 2025).