AI in Westminster: the 2026 report
Parliament’s AI debate in data: five times 2023’s volume, a superintelligence bill and AI policy split three ways.
Westminster produced 3,717 parliamentary documents on artificial intelligence in 2025, nearly five times 2023’s total, and 2026 is running 6% ahead.
The debate has turned from opportunity to control. Chatbot mentions rose tenfold in a year, mentions of jobs and defence tripled, and a bill to ban superintelligence reached the Commons. In July the government abolished the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and split AI policy across three departments.
The full report covers who is speaking, the committees and inquiries, who gives evidence, and each consultation and bill that touches AI.
The full report · 13 pages, with every chart.
Get the full reportWhat we found
1. Westminster now produces five times as much on AI as in 2023
Parliamentary documents on artificial intelligence rose from 766 in 2023 to 3,717 in 2025, and 2026 is running 6% ahead. June 2026 was the busiest month on record, with 549.
2. Chatbot mentions rose tenfold in a year, while copyright mentions more than halved
Mentions of chatbots went from 98 documents to 1,047, the fastest rise of any AI issue. Regulation is now the biggest topic. Copyright peaked alongside the Data (Use and Access) Bill and has fallen 56% since.
3. In ten months, superintelligence went from rare mentions to a bill to ban it
Of all Westminster mentions of superintelligence, 87% came after December 2025. In September Alex Sobel introduced a bill to prohibit it, and more than 70 MPs and peers from several parties asked the Prime Minister to back a ban.
4. AI policy is now split across three departments
In July 2026 the government abolished DSIT. AI strategy and the AI Security Institute moved to the Cabinet Office, AI growth policy to the new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and online safety to DCMS, with an AI minister attending Cabinet.
Open the full-size chart 5. Academics wrote a quarter of the evidence, major AI developers none
Of 109 recent written submissions to inquiries that touch AI, 28 came from university researchers. No major AI developer appears; BAE Systems is the largest company.
What’s in the report
- The wider AI wave p. 2
- How it’s discussed p. 3
- The issues inside the debate p. 4
- The superintelligence surge p. 5
- Tone and key voices p. 6
- Who runs AI policy now p. 7
- Committees and inquiries p. 8
- Who submits evidence p. 9
- Consultations and legislation p. 10
- 2026 flashpoints p. 12
- Method and sources p. 13
How we counted
We counted Westminster documents in GovConnex that mention “artificial intelligence”: Hansard, written questions and answers, and members’ own statements, releases and posts, from April 2016 to 8 October 2026. Sub-topics match “AI” or “artificial intelligence” alongside the topic word, and a document can count under several. The chapters on committees, inquiries, consultations, bills and departments draw on GovConnex’s Westminster sources for each.
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