BBC bosses have given a £40million contract to a controversial firm that will use artificial intelligence to help handle viewers’ complaints.
It comes after the parents of the Huw Edwards grooming victim blasted the Corporation for taking so long to respond to their initial concerns.
1
The broadcaster has admitted mishandling their complaint — which informed the broadcaster that its star news anchor had paid £35,000 to a young man who sent him explicit images.
Bosses apologised after an independent investigation found it had not been flagged to senior managers.
The BBC has now agreed for Serco to handle viewer issues using “bulk responses”.
The company is a key government contractor in immigration and prisons — making millions during Covid.
It has agreed a five-year deal from April 2026 to handle editorial and non-editorial complaints, viewer inquiries, BBC action lines, charitable appeals and “artist mail”.
The Beeb said outsourcing customer relations would “enhance the service offering”.
It is understood AI will not answer complaints directly but will be used by the staff.
The BBC has faced a string of viewer complaints in the past year following the Edwards scandal — first revealed by The Sun — and its broadcasting of a Gaza documentary narrated by a Hamas official’s teenage son.
This week, bosses apologised for “editorial lapses” when they did not include responses from the Home Office or Buckingham Palace to Prince Harry’s claim that the removal of his security was a “good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up”.
Last night, the mother who shopped Edwards to the BBC said the new system “doesn’t look like it will be any easier for viewers to get through”.
The BBC said: “We will use AI to support the work of our team but humans will still respond directly to audience complaints.”