AI is quietly changing how Britain approves your neighbour’s loft extension. At the Google Cloud Summit London, the UK government revealed two AI tools that are already saving councils around 255 hours of paperwork each. One is live across England right now, the other goes national in 2027. Here is what they do, in plain terms.
| Quick Answer At Google Cloud Summit London on June 17, 2026, the UK government shared updates on two AI planning tools built on Google Cloud. The Extract tool, now live in all English councils, turns messy planning documents into digital data and saves the average council about 255 hours of manual work. The Augmented Planning Decisions tool, still in testing, helps planning officers handle complex policies and goes national in 2027. |
What the UK Government Announced
At the Google Cloud Summit London, two government departments shared progress on bringing AI into the planning system. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology revealed updates on two tools designed to make local councils faster and more efficient.
Both run on Google Cloud, but they are at different stages. One is already rolled out nationwide, while the other is an early prototype being tested in a few councils. Together they show how the UK government AI push is moving from talk into real, daily use.
| Why It Matters Planning is one of those slow, paperwork-heavy systems that affects everyone, from a homeowner adding an extension to a town building new housing. Speeding it up with AI could mean faster decisions and less wasted time for councils and citizens alike. |
The Extract Tool: Already Saving 255 Hours per Council
The first tool, called Extract, is the one already making a difference. After a series of successful trials, it now reaches every council across England.
Its job sounds simple but matters hugely. Planning departments are buried in complex documents, many old, scanned, or messy. Extract automatically turns those documents into clean digital data that computers can actually use. That alone should save the average council around 255 hours of manual work.
It runs on Gemini, Google’s AI model, inside a protected Google Cloud environment. That setup lets the government use powerful AI while keeping sensitive data secure and sovereign, and guarding against risks like prompt injection. It is the same enterprise-AI shift we covered in Google’s new data agents, now applied to public services.
| The Standout 255 hours is roughly six full working weeks per council, freed up every time the tool does the document grunt work. Multiply that across every council in England and the time savings become enormous. |
The Augmented Planning Decisions Tool: Coming in 2027
The second tool is more ambitious and still early. Called Augmented Planning Decisions, or APD, it helps planning officers navigate complicated local policies when making decisions.
Right now it is an alpha prototype running in three councils: the London Borough of Barnet, Dorset Council, and the London Borough of Camden. The government is clear that results at this stage are early and experimental. If the trials go well, the government plans to offer it to all 300-plus local authorities across the country from 2027.
| Worth Knowing The government built Extract in-house, but the APD tool is a team effort between the UK government, Google Cloud, Google DeepMind, and the AI firm Faculty. It is a rare public-private collaboration aimed at a genuinely hard problem. |
How the Two Tools Compare
| Extract | Augmented Planning Decisions | |
| What it does | Turns planning documents into digital data | Helps officers navigate complex local policies |
| Stage | Live across all of England | Alpha prototype, in testing |
| Built by | MHCLG and the in-house AI team | Government, Google Cloud, DeepMind, Faculty |
| National rollout | Already done | Planned from 2027 |
| Key benefit | Saves about 255 hours per council | Faster, better-informed planning decisions |
Why Google Cloud Is the Foundation
The UK government owns and leads this transformation, but it needs reliable infrastructure to make it work at national scale. That is where Google Cloud comes in.
Handling sensitive government data for hundreds of councils demands serious security and the ability to scale instantly. By building on Google Cloud and using Gemini in a protected setup, the government runs advanced AI while keeping data safe and sovereign. The aim is for these tools to be production-ready public services, not just experiments that fizzle out.
What It Means for You
If you live in the UK, this affects more than you might think. Here is the practical upshot.
- Faster planning decisions. Less time lost to paperwork could mean quicker answers on applications that affect your home or area.
- Your data stays protected. The tools keep sensitive government and citizen data secure and sovereign.
- A template for other services. If AI works here, expect the same approach in other slow, document-heavy public services.
It is also a clear sign of how AI is shifting from chatbots to real-world systems that do work. Our coverage of how AI agents tackle huge legacy systems shows the same trend playing out in industry.
The UK government AI rollout shows what happens when public-sector ambition meets enterprise-scale technology. The Extract tool already saves councils hundreds of hours, and the Augmented Planning Decisions tool could reshape how planning works from 2027. It is a quiet but real example of AI doing useful, everyday work rather than just generating headlines. You can read the full announcement on the Google blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Did the UK Government Announce
At Google Cloud Summit London, it shared updates on two AI planning tools built on Google Cloud: the Extract tool, now live across England, and the Augmented Planning Decisions tool, still in testing.
What Does the Extract Tool Do
Extract automatically turns complex planning documents into clean digital data. It saves the average council around 255 hours of manual work, and all councils in England now use it.
What Is the Augmented Planning Decisions Tool
It is an AI prototype that helps planning officers navigate complex local policies. Three councils are testing it now, and national rollout follows from 2027.
Which Councils Are Testing the New Tool
Three councils are alpha-testing the tool: the London Borough of Barnet, Dorset Council, and the London Borough of Camden.
How Is the Data Kept Secure
Both tools use Gemini within a protected Google Cloud environment. This keeps sensitive data sovereign and secure and helps guard against risks like prompt injection.
When Will the New Tool Be Available Nationwide
If the trials succeed, the government plans to make the Augmented Planning Decisions tool available to all 300-plus local authorities from 2027.
