Somerset Council is rolling out an AI tool to frontline social workers following the success of a pilot which showed significant time savings.
Called ‘Magic Notes’, it uses generative AI to turn meeting recordings into detailed reports and case notes – giving staff back valuable time so they can focus their attention on care.
Somerset Council initially trialled Magic Notes with 20 staff across Children’s Social Care and the Children’s Social Care Business Operations Service. Practitioners reported weekly time savings of around 11 hours a week, with business support colleagues saving 5 hours each week.
The pilot found assessments and report writing were submitted 65% faster. Overall weekly admin time was reduced by 46%, and a remarkable 95% of staff who piloted Magic Notes said they wanted to keep using it.
Social workers with their own challenges at work such as visual impairments, or dyslexia, reported improved accessibility and found the tool fostered a ‘more inclusive’ workplace culture.
Yvonne is a social worker who was amongst the first to use the new AI tool at Somerset Council. She said:
I got into frontline work because I wanted to help people, and Magic Notes has freed me up to do more of that face-to-face and less time taking notes and filling out paperwork.
The real added benefit is that when I’m out with a client I can be fully focused on them and engage with them, knowing Magic Notes is acting like my assistant, taking notes and tracking actions. It’s liberating.
Watch the following playlist of YouTube video Shorts featuring Somerset Council’s social workers sharing their experiences using Magic Notes:
Magic Notes was developed by the social impact company ‘Beam’ whose aim is to transform the welfare state through the power of people and technology, including artificial intelligence. Their AI tool is being used by many local councils across the country, including in Somerset.
The company estimates that Magic Notes could save UK social workers collectively some 50 million hours annually and save taxpayers more than £1 billion. Their AI tool is being used by many local councils across the country, including in Somerset.
Seb Barker, co-founder and COO of Beam, said:
We developed Magic Notes because we saw first-hand from our own team of caseworkers, the need to free frontline personnel from their desks and huge mountains of admin.
AI gives us the opportunity to get practitioners back on the frontline, where they want to be, and where they do the most meaningful work.
Magic Notes has been designed with data safety and service user consent at its absolute heart, because it really has been built by frontline workers, for frontline workers.
Cllr Heather Shearer, Lead Member for Children, Families and Education at Somerset Council, said:
Magic Notes is helping our organisation to automate repetitive tasks and give time back to staff to focus on the important, high-value, person-centred work.
As a Council, we must be digitally agile. We have a duty to explore all technological opportunities, from improving customer journeys and reducing administrative burden, to supporting wellbeing and enabling more informed, timely decisions.
However, we are moving forward carefully, and with consideration. Our approach is rooted in responsible, ethical AI use, with robust governance frameworks in place. And whilst the function of AI tools is to reduce bureaucracy, paperwork, and administrative tasks, a human being will always be involved in the process.
