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Use of AI at Office for Nuclear Regulation<

  • Date released: 2 November 2026
  • Request number: FOI202610050
  • Release of information under: FOIA

Information requested

I am seeking information on your regulatory body’s usage of artificial intelligence (AI). Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following:

    1. Are staff within your regulatory body under a general instruction to use AI or Generative AI tools to assist your work?
    2. Is your regulatory body currently using AI or Generative AI tools to assist your work?
    3. Is your regulatory body using AI to assist you in selecting targets for investigations or other compliance work?
    4. For each of the last two years, how many investigations or other compliance actions were identified or targeted, wholly or in part, using AI? Please categorise these by whatever intended categorisation you use internally.
    5. Does your regulatory body use AI or Generative AI tools as part of its recruitment processes?
    6. Does your regulatory body have an AI strategy?
    7. If your regulatory body does not have an AI strategy, is it planning to have an AI strategy?

If it looks as though the work involved in responding to this request is going to exceed the time permitted under the FOIA, then please contact me as soon as possible so I can reduce the scope.

Our response

We confirm that under s.1 of the FOIA, we hold the information you have requested. Please find the answers to your questions below.

  1. Are staff within your regulatory body under a general instruction to use AI or Generative AI tools to assist your work?

    Our staff are not under a general instruction to use AI or generative AI tools to assist their work.

  2. Is your regulatory body currently using AI or Generative AI tools to assist your work?

    ONR have provided access to Microsoft Co-Pilot across the organisation to assist with administrative work. AI is used in a supporting role and is not used for regulatory decision making or for making decisions involving our people.

  3. Is your regulatory body using AI to assist you in selecting targets for investigations or other compliance work?

    We are not using AI to assist in selecting targets for investigations or other compliance work.

  4. For each of the last two years, how many investigations or other compliance actions were identified or targeted, wholly or in part, using AI? Please categorise these by whatever intended categorisation you use internally.

    No investigations or other compliance actions were identified or targeted using AI.

  5. Does your regulatory body use AI or Generative AI tools as part of its recruitment processes?

    We do not use AI or generative AI tools as part of our recruitment processes.

  6. Does your regulatory body have an AI strategy?

    We do not have an AI strategy.

  7. If your regulatory body does not have an AI strategy, is it planning to have an AI strategy?

    ONR is currently developing an AI blueprint to guide AI adoption within the organisation and is expecting the work to be concluded by the end of March 2027.

Further information

In 2024, we published our pro-innovation approach to regulating AI in the nuclear sector.

Exemptions applied

N/A

Public Interest Test (PIT)

N/A

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