AI tool improves direct work in adult social care despite accuracy concerns, practitioners report

This article is part of our new ‘Future of Social Work‘ series, where we’ll be reporting on innovative practice approaches and technology driving social work forward. Get in contact with us to flag up anything that you think ticks either of those boxes at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com

Adult social care professionals have reported that using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool saved them time and improved direct work, despite some concerns over accuracy.

Research commissioned by Beam, the company behind the Magic Notes tool, found practitioners reported reduced time spent on case recording and assessments, enhanced engagement with people they supported, and improved quality of supervision meetings.

The tool was also commended by a non-native English speaker and a neurodivergent practitioner. However, concerns were raised over inaccuracies and assumptions in the summaries and scripts, requiring practitioners to make, sometimes time-consuming, edits.

Magic Notes, currently used by 85 councils in the UK, records meetings and generates a transcript, summary and suggested actions based on council-agreed prompts.

The evaluation, produced by Rob Procter and Stanislav Zhydkov of AI research body the Alan Turing Institute, was based on analysis of usage by, and feedback from, 91 staff in three councils in England collected during a trial of the tool between April and September 2024. Researchers also carried out in-depth interviews with 11 of the social care professionals, six of whom were social workers with one to six years’ experience.

Staff from the three authorities – Swindon, Barnet, and Camden – gave an average feedback rating of 4.26 out of 5.

‘I feel on top of my caseload’

Several interviewees said the tool significantly reduced the time they spent writing up notes and assessments. This reflects data from Swindon showing that the tool cut the average time to conduct a Care Act assessment conversation from 90 to 35 minutes and time spent on follow-up case notes from four to one-and-a-half hours, during its trial from April to July 2024.

One practitioner said the quick turnaround of assessments made a tangible difference to their workload and wellbeing.

“I feel that I’m getting through things more quickly. They’re good assessments. It’s allowing me time to go out and see more people more frequently. And just for my own wellbeing, I feel that I’m on top of my caseload, which you don’t hear social workers say that a lot.”

Beneficial for neurodivergent and disabled social workers

A social worker with ADHD, dyslexia and arthritis also found that ‘talking’ to the app significantly improved their workflow.

“It takes me a long time to structure things in a way that is cohesive for someone else. I’m not great with my sentence formation,” they said.

“It could take me a couple of days to make sure that my care assessment is [accurate], strength-based, and is looking at that person. Whereas if I have this 20-minute conversation with myself on Magic Notes, explaining my thought-process, saying what they said and summarising my thinking – it takes two minutes to generate. I have to change things but it cuts [the time] that assessment [takes] down by at least half.”

‘There is far better engagement’

By reducing time spent on note taking, Magic Notes allowed for better engagement in meetings with people needing support and enhanced the quality of supervision sessions, reported practitioners.

“[There is] far better engagement. […] We’ve got note-taking skills, but it’s giving me the opportunity to not think about that so much and just have the conversation,” said one participant.

Another social worker added: “I used to have a manager that would type on the laptop supervision notes as you go. And they spent 90% of the time looking at the laptop and about 10% looking at me and talking and it just felt like you weren’t having a natural conversation.

“With Magic Notes you could just put the phone in front of you and have a full conversation. I’m not having to pause to write something.”

However, one participant noted that the tool struggled in team meetings where multiple cases were discussed.

“I’ve had colleagues who’ve tried using it in meetings where it’s really not done well. When you’re talking about multiple different clients, it doesn’t capture all the information. And even when they’ve tried to edit it, it’s not managed to pull out more information.”

‘Sometimes it makes assumptions’

Photo: S

Some practitioners noted inaccuracies, including name misspellings, repetitions and assumptions in the AI-generated script and summaries.

This required reviewing and editing, which sometimes proved time-consuming due to the tool’s slow processing of alterations, said professionals.

One interviewee said: “It’s not perfect yet. I wouldn’t just copy and paste [a summary] straight over because sometimes it makes assumptions. I think it can’t pick up on nuances and it did use to make quite a bit of assumption about someone’s needs or their understanding of things.”

“I’ll fact-check it to make sure that there isn’t anything kind of added in. What’s the word I’m looking for? Presumptuous. Sometimes it can add in detail based on what’s not been discussed.”

Another highlighted the importance of maintaining professional judgment: “I wouldn’t want to just copy-paste a full summary and be like that’s my assessment. I take ownership. I’m accountable for making recommendations and judgments about things that weren’t in the conversation or weren’t said. It was almost making professional judgements, which is the domain of a professional, whoever they are, not the AI.”

Prime minister hails AI’s impact on social work

Keir Starmer meets Ealing council staff and Beam chief executive Alex Stephany at Downing Street (photo: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street)

The report comes with prime minister Keir Starmer having highlighted AI’s impact on social work, in setting out government plans to use the technology to transform services.

Launching the government’s AI opportunities action plan last month, Starmer said that artificial intelligence could “almost halve the time social workers spend on paperwork”.

He recently met Beam chief executive Alex Stephany and representatives from Ealing Council, where more than 100 social workers use Magic Notes, to discuss the impact of AI on practitioners’ work.

Ealing has calculated that the tool has reduced the time adult social care staff spend on admin by 44-50%.

Social worker Joanna James, who attended the 10 Downing Street reception, said: “I got into social work to support people and the AI tool has helped me and the team really focus on that part of the job by cutting down the time I spend doing paperwork.”

Directors welcome use of AI in social care

President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) Melanie Williams welcomed the use of AI in adult social care, emphasising the need to “harness” its potential to improve the sector.

“Using AI to speed up admin tasks will give care workers more time to spend with people they support, which is key to good quality social care,” she added.

“With most of us needing care and support at one point in our lives, cost of care increasing and workforce challenges, using technology in the right way can also bring real cost benefits to local councils, as well as improving outcomes for people.”

Calls for regulation and further evaluation of AI tools

However, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) urged caution, calling for more evaluation of tools being used in social work.

A spokesperson said: “The evaluation of AI tools in the workplace is to be welcomed to improve understanding of how such tools are best used. A wide range of AI tools are now in use in workplaces without such evaluation and with a limited understanding of their flaws and restrictions. There are also concerns about data protection and security.

“AI tools, used appropriately, could potentially benefit social workers and the people with whom they work, but the question remains as to whether such time-saving tools free up time for relationship-based social work or whether any time saved will simply result in increased caseloads.”

Social Workers Union general secretary John McGowan raised similar concerns, saying: “[AI] should not be used as a quick fix to kick much-needed support into the long grass once again. Right now it is crucial that the proper AI frameworks, regulations, oversight, and guidance are developed and delivered so that this new technology can be used safely and efficiently.

“Social workers must be supported to use AI in a way that is designed to uphold human rights and does not risk perpetuating inequalities that many people they support already experience or undermine trust in the profession.”

Social Work England to review AI’s impact

Social Work England has also recently commissioned two pieces of research to examine how artificial intelligence is shaping social work practice and education.

The research will look at:

• The areas of Social Work England’s professional standards that may be affected by social workers’ use of AI in their work.
• The types of AI being used across health and social care in England and their application in social work practice, including the risks of bias and discrimination.
• If social workers feel confident and prepared to use AI ethically and appropriately, in line with Social Work England’s professional standards, and how employers are supporting them to do this.
• How social work education providers are preparing students for AI in their future work.
• Data protection and confidentiality when using AI with people using services and the public.