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Find out moreHMRC launches AI chatbot – should you use it?
You can ask questions across a range of topics, from tax to childcare and apprenticeships
With a background in financial journalism across national titles, Ruby loves helping people take control of their money and specialises in pensions, tax, banking and benefits.
The government has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot designed to give taxpayers quick and reliable access to official guidance.
By drawing on more than 80,000 pages of Gov.uk information, the tool aims to answer real-life questions in everyday language – covering everything from childcare entitlements and apprenticeships to first-home schemes and retirement benefits.
Here, Which? explains how the AI app works, what you can use it for and your rights if the chatbot gives you the wrong answer. We also put it to the test with common tax questions from Which? readers.
How does it work?
Available only on the Gov.uk app, the chatbot provides automated responses 24/7 using only official government online guidance.
Although it doesn't aim to replace traditional support lines, the government hopes it will free them up for more complex situations where taxpayers need support from a real person.
Conversation history is then saved for 90 days, allowing you to refer back to it if needed. However, logs are held for 12 months to support cybersecurity and product development.
Regarding privacy, the government says data is stored separately from One Login identities and is not used to train underlying language models.
- Find out more: how much tax I need to pay
What can I ask it?
Unlike consumer AI tools such as Gemini or ChatGPT, which draw on a broad blend of external content that can be outdated or incorrect, the Gov.uk chatbot is designed to provide answers drawn exclusively from government guidance.
You can ask questions in everyday language without needing to know specific jargon or the names of complex support schemes – example questions include:
- What support is available to me if I’ve just had a baby?
- How do I claim child benefit?
- How do I report being self-employed?
In response, the chatbot aims to provide an answer in plain English, with each point linking back to the original source material on the government’s website. Each answer also encourages you to double-check the information using the links provided.
- Find out more: how to fill in a self-assessment tax return
What can the AI chatbot not do?
The chatbot is strictly prohibited from acting as a professional adviser on tax, financial or legal matters. If your question is too complex or depends on your personal circumstances, the chatbot is designed to avoid giving direct financial or legal advice.
The tool also proactively identifies and stops personal information – such as phone numbers or bank details – from being inserted into the conversation logs. However, things such as salary can be included.
If you ask a question unrelated to government topics, such as 'Who will win the World Cup?', the bot will say it cannot answer and prompt you to ask something else.
The Gov.uk tool also does not currently offer a translation feature, even though AI is technically capable of it. This is because the government cannot yet guarantee that translated answers will be accurate, which it says would damage the tool’s reliability.
- Find out more: how to calculate your tax bill?
Can the Gov.uk chatbot be wrong?
As with all generative AI systems, the Gov.uk chatbot is not 100% accurate. In its final testing, it achieved an accuracy rating of 90% – meaning some responses may contain omissions.
The chatbot is clearly labelled as an experimental tool and includes warnings throughout that AI can make mistakes.
Another important thing to note is that the chatbot can miss nuances in statements. For example, if you ask the AI chatbot whether you start paying tax when you earn £12,570 a year, the chatbot will respond saying that you don't.
This is in fact correct. The personal allowance sits at £12,570.01p – so you start actually paying when you earn that 1p more. So while technically right, the answer could still mislead someone trying to understand exactly when deductions begin appearing in their pay.
This is exactly why the government stresses that you should always click the provided links to verify the official guidance for yourself before making any decisions.
You can give the government feedback on your chatbot experience by clicking the three dots next to the textbox and clicking 'give feedback'.
- Find out more: tax free income and allowances
Can I be fined for acting on a bad answer?
If you act on a wrong answer from the AI chatbot, you’re still responsible for getting your tax right. You will still have to pay any tax you owe, and you could also face a fine or penalty if you miss a deadline or pay the wrong amount.
Under current government protocols, HMRC may be bound by its own incorrect advice only if it was reasonable for a taxpayer to rely on it and if enforcing the law would be so unfair as to constitute an abuse of power.
In such cases, HMRC reviews whether the advice was clear and unconditional, whether it directly influenced the taxpayer’s actions, and if the individual would be left financially worse off.
However, as the app repeatedly informs users to double-check with official guidance – and provides links to do so – it is unlikely you can use an AI error as a valid reason to overturn a fine or penalty.
- Find out more: late tax returns and penalties for mistakes
How it fared under testing
Ruby Flanagan, Which? writer
To see how well the chatbot handled more complex questions, I put it to the test using queries commonly raised by Which? readers.
Q: How can I avoid inheritance tax on my pension?
I asked the chatbot how to reduce inheritance tax on my estate, but it wouldn't give me a direct answer. Instead, it just told me 'I cannot give advice' or 'I can’t answer that'.
On my third attempt, I got a different message saying the response didn't meet the Gov.uk chat content guidelines. This happened because the bot thought the answer might be 'unclear or misleading' or that it was offering professional advice.
The bot told me to rephrase, so I thought I was being clever by asking, 'How do I reduce the value of my estate for inheritance tax purposes?' But the chatbot still wouldn’t answer.
- Find out more: ways to avoid inheritance tax
Q: I've just become a landlord. What taxes do I have to pay?
The Gov.uk chatbot answers the basic question fairly well. It explains you pay income tax on rent and the first £1,000 is tax-free. It also lists the reporting limits of £2,500 and £10,000. It also gives the 5 October deadline to register for self-assessment if you're a new landlord.
However, the bot leaves out some important details. It doesn't say that you must choose between the £1,000 allowance or your actual expenses. It also fails to mention that mortgage interest is not a simple expense you can deduct.
Finally, it doesn't warn you about the new Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules for landlords and self-employed people earning more than £50,000, which came into effect from April 2026. So while technically correct, these omissions show why you still need to double-check the finer details yourself.
- Find out more: how rental income is taxed
Q: When do I need to register for Making Tax Digital?
This time, the chatbot gave me a detailed answer about the current MTD rollout, explaining which types of income are included and listing the specific thresholds and dates for the coming tax years. For example, the bot noted that if I earn over £50,000 in the 2024-25 tax year, I must start using the service from 6 April 2026.
It also clarified that while HMRC reviews returns and sends letters to those above the threshold, I am still responsible for checking if I need to sign up.
- Find out more: what Making Tax Digital software should you use?
