United Kingdom·Public sector·2025 – ongoing

Somerset Council

Magic Notes AI note-taking pilot in children's social care

Somerset reports 46% less weekly admin time in a 20-person AI note-taking pilot

WorkingCompany's own claim

Problem

Social workers in children's services spent a large share of the week writing up meetings, assessments and case notes.

Approach

The council tested Magic Notes, a generative AI tool from the company Beam that turns recorded meetings into reports and case notes. Twenty staff in children's social care and its business operations team took part. After the pilot the council said it would extend the tool to frontline social workers.

Results

46%Fall in weekly admin time among 20 pilot staff (council figure)Company's own claim[1]

about 11 hoursTime saved per week by each practitioner in the pilotCompany's own claim[1]

65%How much faster assessments and reports were submittedCompany's own claim[1]

95%Share of pilot staff who wanted to keep using the toolCompany's own claim[1]

Takeaway

The council reports the savings were largest for practitioners, at about 11 hours a week each. These are the council's own pilot figures from a small group.

Sources

Somerset social workers save time on admin thanks to AI tool Magic Notes
Somerset Council4 Sep 2025Government publication

Source summaries

[1]Somerset Council4 Sep 2025

The council reports results from a 20-person pilot of Magic Notes in children's social care. It gives time savings, the share who want to keep the tool, and the plan to extend it.

Full details are in the original sources.

Added 25 Oct 2026 · Updated 25 Oct 2026