March 25th 2026
New national guidance from NHS England is clarifying how AI-powered “ambient scribing” tools should be safely used across health and care settings, including adult social care, as adoption of these technologies accelerates.
Ambient scribing products, sometimes called AI scribes, use speech recognition and generative artificial intelligence to capture conversations and automatically produce structured records such as notes, letters or summaries.
While the technology offers clear benefits, including reducing administrative burden and freeing up staff time, the guidance makes clear that organisations and professionals remain fully accountable for how these tools are used.
Although written for health and care settings, the guidance is primarily aimed at NHS organisations. However, it has important implications for adult social care providers adopting similar tools.
Growing use, but not risk-free
The guidance highlights that AI-enabled scribing is already being deployed to support documentation and workflows, with potential to improve productivity and allow staff to spend more time with people drawing on care.
However, it also warns that these systems introduce new types of risk. These include inaccuracies in generated text, missing context, or delays in producing outputs, all of which could affect care quality if not properly managed.
These risks are highly relevant for adult social care providers, particularly where documentation underpins safeguarding, continuity of care and regulatory compliance.
Professional responsibility remains with staff
A central message of the guidance is that AI does not replace professional judgement.
Even where AI tools generate notes or summaries, care professionals remain responsible for checking accuracy, ensuring records are complete, and making decisions based on reliable information. Organisations deploying these tools remain accountable for safety, compliance and outcomes.
For governance leads, this means ensuring clear policies are in place on how AI outputs are reviewed, edited and approved before being added to care records.
The guidance also stresses the need for formal governance structures. This includes assigning appropriate roles such as a Clinical Safety Officer, maintaining safety documentation, and putting in place ongoing monitoring of risks and performance.
It is also clear that staff should not use AI scribing tools outside organisational approval and oversight. Informal or unauthorised use of consumer-grade tools creates potential risks to both data security and care quality.
Data protection and people’s rights
The use of ambient scribing tools raises important questions about privacy and data protection.
Because these systems may capture and process sensitive personal information, organisations must complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment and ensure compliance with data protection law before deployment.
People drawing on care should be informed about how their information is being recorded and used, including when AI is involved. Transparency is essential to maintaining trust and ensuring lawful and fair processing of personal data.
What social care providers should focus on
For adult social care providers, the guidance reinforces the importance of strong governance and careful implementation. Key areas to focus on include:
- clear policies on when and how AI scribes can be used
- staff training on reviewing and validating AI-generated records
- robust transparency processes for people receiving care
- ensuring tools are approved and meet safety and data protection standards
- ongoing monitoring of risks, errors and unintended consequences
AI should be seen as a tool to support practice, not replace it. Professional judgement and accountability must remain central.
A step forward for safe adoption
Katie Thorn at Digital Care Hub, welcomed the guidance:
“AI is already starting to shape how care is recorded and delivered. This guidance is an important step in helping the sector adopt these tools safely. As use of AI increases in care settings, it is vital that providers understand their responsibilities, protect people’s rights, and keep professional judgement at the centre of care.”
Looking ahead
The guidance forms part of wider work to support the safe adoption of AI across health and care, and forms valuable information for discussion at the AI in Social Care Summit later this week. The Summit, hosted by Digital Care Hub, The Institute of Ethics in AI and Casson Consulting, will include an announcement about the new AI in Social Care Alliance.
Related links
Adopting ambient scribing products in health and care settings
AI in Social Care Alliance (formerly the Oxford Project on Responsible use of AI in social care)
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