Consumers won’t have to declare use of AI, rules Ombudsman

Consumers will not be forced to declare if they have used AI to write a complaint, the Property Ombudsman has told The Neg.

The Ombudsman’s Lesley Horton ruled out any such requirement, saying its rulebook governs agents rather than the people complaining about them.

“The Property Ombudsman’s Codes set standards for property agents, not consumers, so we would not seek to require complainants to declare whether they have used AI,” she said.

“Nor should legitimate complaints face unnecessary barriers.”

AI assistance

Horton insisted that AI is “not the enemy of progress”, and confirmed that the Ombudsman is using the technology.

“We are using it ourselves to help manage the increasing volume and complexity of complaints, including those generated with AI assistance,” she said.

Genuine evidence

But she warned that machine-drafted cases are making genuine evidence harder to spot.

“We are also seeing submissions where relevant evidence is harder to identify among inaccurate, repetitive or unnecessary material,” Horton said.

“That inevitably takes more time and puts additional pressure on resources and costs.”

It puts additional pressure on resources and costs.”

Her comments follow the Ombudsman revealing that there has been a surge in complaints – which are already more than 50% higher than during the same period last year.

Horton said it is now down to agents to keep clean records.

“This makes effective complaint handling by agents, together with clear, accurate records, more important than ever,” she said.

“Good records allow issues to be understood and resolved efficiently, regardless of whether AI has played a role in preparing a complaint.”