OpenAI has announced a new partnership with the UK’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ) which will allow civil servants to use ChatGPT.

Under the partnership, OpenAI said it will offer UK data residency for customers using its API Platform, ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Edu.

The company said that through the technology, civil servants working at the MOJ will save time, work more efficiently, and deliver better public services.

Around 2,500 employees will be provided with access to ChatGPT Enterprise.

The move follows a successful pilot that showed time-saving benefits across writing support, compliance and legal work, data and research processes, and document analysis.

The agreement builds on an existing partnership with the government that was announced in July which will expand AI security research and explore investment in the UK’s AI infrastructure, including data centres.

The partnership will examine the potential use of AI in areas such as justice, defence and security, and education, with OpenAI sharing technical information with the UK Institute for AI Security to deepen the government's understanding of AI capabilities and security risks.

“Our partnership with OpenAI places Britain firmly in the driving seat of the global tech revolution—leading the world in innovation and using technology to deliver fairness and opportunity for every corner of the United Kingdom,” said deputy prime minister and lord chancellor David Lammy.

Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, said that the number of people using its products in the UK has increased fourfold in the past year.

“Civil servants are using ChatGPT to improve public services and established firms are reimagining operations,” he added. “We're proud to continue supporting the UK and the Government's AI plan.”

Elsewhere in the UK government, OpenAI technology already powers several tools, including “Humphrey”, an AI assistant designed to ease the administrative burden on civil servants.
The technology also supports “Consult”, which speeds up the policymaking process by automatically sorting public consultation responses.

Earlier this month, the government shared that Consult helped to speed up its decision to abolish the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat).

The tool was used to sort over 50,000 responses into key themes, making the Independent Water Commission (IWC) analysis more efficient and effective.

The AI tool categorised responses into themes in around two hours, costing only £240, with experts needing just 22 hours to check the results.

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