Speeding up planning decisions with AI - Google DeepMind

PlanAssist has shown it can cut the time planning officers spend assessing householder applications by up to 58%. PlanAssist - an AI planning tool that handles the heavy lifting of routine applications so officers can focus their expertise where it matters most - is to be made available to an additional 12 local planning authorities across England. In early pilot testing across Barnet, Camden, and Dorset, PlanAssist showed it could bring the average time a planning officer spent on householder assessment tasks down by 58%. Designed to support human judgement, the tool speeds up routine checks while ensuring planning officers retain the final say on every application. Planning bottlenecks have real costs. For the economy, they slow progress toward the UK government's goal of building 1.5 million new homes by 2029. For families, that can mean months of waiting on approval for something as simple as a loft conversion, conservatory, or extension. Built with Gemini, PlanAssist is part of Google DeepMind’s broader partnership with the UK government to explore how AI can help transform planning and other public services.