The BBC has revealed to a wider audience the huge challenge that contact centres and complaints teams are facing, as a result of the sharp rise in use of generative AI for writing formal complaints.

“A rising tide of complaints written with the help of AI is substantially increasing the workload of schools, local councils and other public bodies”, the BBC’s exposé has declared.

Public bodies have reported they are increasingly receiving detailed, lengthy and overly-legislative complaints that are clearly being created with the help of GenAI tools, with one body saying some complaints “once contained to a single sheet of A4 could now run to 20 pages”, and that in one specific case, a complaint about bin collection had run to 27 pages long.

Operational Complexity

Across a number of our in-person events in 2026, CCMA members have cited the rise in AI use for the complaint process, and it isn’t just an issue resigned to councils and schools, with organisations in industries such as energy and healthcare reporting a rise in AI-generated written customer complaints. Some have also cited AI being referenced by customers during complaints lodged via the phone.

While AI can help customers articulate concerns more clearly and confidently, it  presents a clear and very new challenge. Longer submissions, inconsistencies, inaccuracy and a higher volume of escalated concerns all have the potential to increase operational complexity.

In the BBC expose, Deborah Evans, chief executive of Lawyers in Local Government said that despite the widespread efficiencies that AI is meant to bring to organisations, she had “estimated her organisation needed double the current workforce to deal with the “massive” increase in complaints”.

The Confidence to Respond 

For contact centres and complaints teams, the question is not whether AI should or shouldn’t influence the complaint handling process, but how you ensure teams have the skills, processes and confidence to manage this type of complaint effectively and efficiently, while maintaining a positive customer experience.

Mel Lomax, Head of Learning & Accreditation at the CCMA, says there are several approaches that complaint teams can consider adopting.

• Focus on the issue, not the volume. AI-generated complaints may contain extensive detail, but respondents should focus on identifying the core concern quickly and efficiently.
• Verify facts and references. Generative AI can occasionally misquote policies, processes or legislation. Encouraging teams to validate key claims rather than assume accuracy is a must, despite the increase in handling time that this might bring.
• Equip escalation teams with the right analytical and investigative skills. AI-assisted complaints can be more sophisticated and complex, requiring deeper investigation and reasoning. An understanding of a broader mix of legal terminology will help your teams get to the root of complaints quicker, and avoid any unnecessary escalations driven by AI.
• Communicate your support. Leaders may have to adapt coaching approaches around confidence and critical thinking skills, while creating a supportive culture that helps teams stay calm and effective under pressure.
• Maintain compassion. Customers may use AI to draft their complaint, but the emotion behind it remains real.
• Use AI responsibly within your teams. Many contact centres are already using AI to support complaint categorisation, summarisation and routing, but human oversight must remain central to decision-making, in order to avoid AI taking over the process.

“AI is changing how customers communicate with organisations, including how they raise concerns and complaints. Rather than seeing this as a problem, contact centres should view it as an opportunity to strengthen their complaint handling capabilities,” says Mel.

“Success ultimately depends on combining the efficiency of technology in response, with the judgement, empathy and critical thinking skills that only people can provide. The organisations that invest in these capabilities today will be best prepared.”

Members of the CCMA can join the Beyond Resolution – Turning Complaints into Catalysts for Change Circle on 8 September 2026 to discuss the topic in greater detail.

CCMA Academy hosts a number of specialist courses on complaint handling, including the virtual courses The Human Side of Complaints and Contact Centre Leadership Behaviours.