Major NHS AI trial delivers unprecedented time and cost savings
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-20)

Microsoft 365 Copilot trial demonstrates monthly time savings of potentially 400,000 hours for NHS staff.

The largest artificial intelligence (AI) trial of its kind globally in healthcare, involving more than 30,000 NHS workers, has shown how new technology could generate unprecedented time savings for NHS staff and lead to better care for patients, in a major productivity drive.

A groundbreaking pilot of Microsoft 365 Copilot across 90 NHS organisations found that AI-powered administrative support could save NHS staff on average 43 minutes per staff member per day or more - that’s 5 weeks of time per person annually. Results from the trial show that a full roll-out could save up to 400,000 hours of staff time per month, equating to millions of hours every year, enabling staff to focus more effectively on frontline care.

The NHS estimates that the technology could save it millions of pounds every month based on 100,000 users, which could reach hundreds of millions of pounds in cost savings every year - cost savings that would be spent on directly improving patient care and frontline services.

The government is creating a more efficient NHS by harnessing technology while cutting waste and duplication. NHS productivity for acute trusts increased by 2.7% between April 2024 and March 2025, exceeding the government’s 2% year-on-year target set in the 10 Year Health Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future).

Better use of tech and AI is a key part of this productivity boost, along with a focus on efficiencies in elective care, outpatient reform, and urgent and emergency care.

Health Innovation Minister, Dr Zubir Ahmed, said:

As an NHS surgeon and clinician, I know how frustrating it can be to be held up by archaic technology that makes day-to-day tasks painstakingly long.

This partnership with Microsoft will help free up staff from spending time on admin so they can focus on what they want to be doing - treating patients.

Innovations like this will help drive NHS productivity so patients can get the treatment they need sooner and there is better value for taxpayers. We’re making sure every pound is spent on cutting waiting times and boosting care through our Plan for Change.

Currently, over one million online Teams meetings take place across the NHS each month. With Microsoft 365 Copilot, 83,333 hours in note-taking time could be saved every month. Another 13,200 hours per month could be saved.

The AI personal assistant could also save the health service 271,000 hours a month by summarising complex and long email chains for clinicians and staff. More than 10.3 million emails are sent in the NHS each month.

Reducing the administrative burden on NHS staff frees up valuable time that can be redirected towards patient care and clinical activities as the health service undergoes the largest digital transformation in its history.

As part of the government’s commitment to shift the NHS from analogue to digital through the 10 Year Health Plan, the adoption of new technologies, and working with partners like Microsoft, are key to making the NHS more efficient.

Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK and Ireland, said:

This major trial proves the extraordinary potential of AI to transform healthcare. By reducing admin and giving healthcare workers back a reported 43 minutes every day, Microsoft 365 Copilot can help the NHS redirect hundreds of thousands of hours each month towards patient care and potentially save hundreds of millions of pounds every year.

We’re proud to support the NHS in this digital transformation, which shows how AI can reduce time-consuming admin for NHS workers and so improve the quality of patient care.

Microsoft Copilot Chat is now available across the whole of the NHS, at no additional cost for the health service, with Microsoft 365 Copilot being used by more than 50,000 members of staff across the NHS today. The software works by deploying Microsoft AI directly into the office software that staff use daily, such as Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, enabling the user to use questions or prompts to get help with tasks and workflows, helping colleagues to collaborate and manage tasks more effectively and quickly.

The trial builds on NHS England and Microsoft’s existing partnership to provide all NHS organisations with access to Microsoft 365 productivity tools, demonstrating how the NHS can use its collective buying power to secure market-leading products at reduced cost for taxpayers - while driving forward the efficiency improvements essential for a modern health service.