1. Take care not to give away private information There are lots of free resources available to consumers who use AI. Not all of these are secure and not all of them will keep what we type confidential. AI companies need to test their products, and learn from people using them, so it is possible that the data put into the tools will be kept and used in some way by the companies. Asking a public AI tool to draft a complaint letter, based on a number of documents about a divorce, for example, could mean sharing addresses, financial information and details about assets and children. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing that information with someone you’d just met, think carefully before sharing it with an AI tool. One way around this is to remove personal details from anything you give the AI tool access to. You can always add information like names and addresses afterwards.
2. Bad prompts get bad answers We’re all learning how to use these tools and, like all technology, everyone will learn at different speeds. Prompts are what we put into an AI tool to generate a result. They could be a question (“What’s the average house price in Birmingham?”) or a request (“Give me a list of things I should be checking before I buy a house in Birmingham”). The better the wording of the prompt, the better the answer is likely to be. But this takes practice. Think of the AI tool as a helper that is eager to impress. If a consumer tells it they’re very happy and want to write a letter of thanks, it will write a letter that is full of praise and kind words. If a consumer tells it that they’re very unhappy and want to make a complaint, it will write an angry letter that tells the other person off. If it has any doubt, the tool will often go a bit further than might have been intended, so the letter of thanks will be gushing and the letter of complaint will be scolding. When asked questions, if the AI tool thinks a consumer wants to be told that they had a terrible service, it’s likely to tell them that, and it will nitpick, exaggerate and even make up things to ’please’. So, there is a risk that the result, however well-crafted and professional it looks, isn’t actually a true reflection of the consumer’s complaint. If you experiment with different wording in prompts and compare the results, you’ll see how they vary. If you’re thinking of using an AI tool, keep in mind how small changes to the prompt can lead to very different results. Try telling the AI tool what role you want it to play, because it will then follow that command.
3. AI sometimes makes things up Although the answers they give often look accurate, these tools do still make basic mistakes. If it doesn’t know the answer, the tool will sometimes fill the gap by giving what it considers to be a plausible answer. In a complaint about the service provided by a lawyer, for example, this might be writing something that looks like a real legal case, but isn’t (Thomson v Boycott [1977] WLR 191), or a quote from the judgment in a case, or a reference to a law or code of conduct. The AI tool is capable of getting these wrong and, when it does, it won’t tell the consumer whether it’s actually found the right answer. It’s really important to check whatever an AI tool produces and not take what comes out on trust. Even when it looks convincing, it might not be right. If you aren’t sure whether what the tool is saying is accurate, you can ask it to verify its own work and show where it got its answers from. Sometimes, it will admit its mistakes.
Tips for using AI to draft a complaint letter Protect your personal information Choose your words carefully in the prompt Remember that a complaint is the start of a process to put things right, so make sure your letter is helpful for that Look closely for any mistakes If the AI tool isn’t helping you in the way you want, you don’t have to use it
Legal Ombudsman AI Template: Write a Complaint Letter to Your Lawyer We always encourage people to make a complaint in their own words, where possible, but we know some people want to use AI to help them with their complaint. AI doesn’t guarantee a better outcome to the complaint, and it does have some risks, as we explain in our Consumer Guide. We have designed a template consumers can use to draft a letter of complaint using AI. This addresses some of the risks, which should be to the benefit of consumers and service providers, as well as to the Legal Ombudsman, if the complaint does come to us. How to use it: Complete the boxes with details of the complaint – don’t put any personal details like case numbers, bank details or dates of birth. You can add these yourself afterwards, before sending the letter. Date first started working for me Date stopped working for me The job they were instructed to do (such as buy a house, represent me in court, help write a will) What went wrong? What effect has this had on me? What outcome would put things right for me? You may find LeO’s Guidance on Remedies helpful when thinking about this Link to my lawyer’s complaint procedure on their website (if available) Copy this prompt into the AI tool Act as a neutral complaint-resolution assistant. Your function is to communicate in a way that helps people say how they really feel and which looks to find a fair way of resolving the dispute. Using only the information I have provided in the completed table, draft a clear and concise complaint letter to my legal service provider. Explain factually what happened, what I am unhappy about, how it affected me and what I would like the provider to consider doing to put matters right. Keep the tone calm, firm, fair and professional. Do not use aggressive, accusatory, overly-emotional or combative language. Do not invent, assume or exaggerate any facts. If important information is missing or unclear, identify what I should clarify rather than guessing. Keep the letter focused on the main issues and avoid repetition. When describing the outcome sought, do not suggest that I am automatically entitled to a particular remedy. Frame it as the outcome I would like the provider to consider. Rather than asking for a response by a certain date, ask for a response in line with my lawyer’s complaint procedure. Make clear that I am willing to discuss a fair and reasonable resolution to the complaint with them, if their procedure has that as an option. I have left out my name, contact details, case reference and other identifying information. Use placeholders where necessary. I will check the letter, correct it, and add those details myself before sending it. Check and amend the letter before sending – remember, what goes out with your name at the bottom should be something you are happy is accurate. Make sure you add any personal details like your name and file reference before you send it. Please note: users choose to use the AI tool and, in doing so, they understand that entering information means it could be stored, misused, or exposed, violating privacy and security. . The Legal Ombudsman does not accept responsibility for the outcome of any process where this tool is used.
