HMRC has put more than 25,000 of its staff through its AI training programme, according to newly released Freedom of Information (FOI) data.

The figures, requested by practice management software firm Acting Office, showed that HMRC provided Microsoft 365 Copilot training to 25,549 employees as of December 2025.

HMRC also stated that between 2024 and 2025, staff completed more than 80,000 of its Digital Academy courses, with more than 11,000 of these AI-focused.

In December 2025, HMRC had 72,258 employees in its total workforce, meaning just over a third – 35.36 per cent – of its employees had received AI training.

The department added that 13.2 per cent of HMRC employees have completed part one of its One Big Thing training initiative, an annual upskilling module through which civil servants can learn essential AI skills and discover how the technology can be applied within their department.

Kenny MacAulay, chief executive of Acting Office, said: “The sooner HMRC catches up with AI, the better. Accountancy firms across the country remain like a rabbit in the headlights with this technology, with many bungling implementations or avoiding the inevitable altogether.

“AI is here to stay, and forward-thinking organisations need a complete rethink about how they use it to deliver value, not just automating simple tasks, but overhauling entire workflows. Firms that treat AI as a bolt-on will be left behind.”

HMRC committed to widespread AI deployment in its 2025 Transformation Roadmap, including the rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot for HMRC staff as well as internal generative AI assistants for knowledge retrieval on internal and operational guidance.

The UK government has invested in greater AI deployment throughout the public sector in recent years, with the most recent example being a GOV.UK chatbot powered by Anthropic’s Claude, launched in May.

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