Google DeepMind PlanAssist Moves to 12 More English Councils After Cutting Assessment Time by 58%

Google DeepMind's latest Gemini project isn't a chatbot or a video model. It's a tool for one of the least glamorous jobs in British government, and that is exactly why it's interesting. PlanAssist, built to help planning officers in England get through routine home applications, is moving from a small pilot to 12 more local councils.

What the tool does

Householder applications, like loft conversions, conservatories and extensions, make up as much as 70% of a planning officer's workload. According to DeepMind, PlanAssist handles the repetitive parts:

• It checks that the required documents and drawings were submitted.
• It compares the plan against heritage limits, such as tree preservation orders, and local and national planning rules.
• It looks for earlier issues or objections, including from neighbors.
• It drafts a report with citations that the officer can edit before deciding.

The officer still makes every final call. DeepMind built it with the UK government, Google Cloud and Faculty.

The numbers so far

Since June the tool has been tested at Barnet, Camden and Dorset councils. DeepMind says it cut the average time officers spent on these assessments by 58%. More than 70% of the drafted reports were approved with no edits.

Next comes a 12-month beta using live applications. Twelve more councils are joining in three groups, which brings the total to 15, from city boroughs to rural districts. If testing goes well, the government plans to offer it to every council in England in 2027.

My take is that this is the kind of AI story worth watching. It's a narrow, checkable task with a human signing off, and there's a clear metric. The 58% figure comes from a pilot at three councils, so the beta will be the real test. You can read the details in Google DeepMind's announcement.