The UK Government have launched Extract, an AI system built with Google's Gemini model to accelerate planning document processing from handwritten notes and blurry maps into digital data. Developed by the UK Government's AI Incubator team (i.AI), Extract reduces document conversion time from up to 2 hours for planning professionals to just 40 seconds, addressing bottlenecks in England's 350,000 annual planning applications.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighted Extract during London Tech Week as part of the government's mission to build 1.5 million more homes. "For too long, our outdated planning system has held back our country— slowing down the development of vital infrastructure and making it harder to get the homes we need built," Starmer stated. "With Extract, we're harnessing the power of AI to help planning officers cut red tape, speed up decisions, and unlock the new homes for hard-working people as part of our Plan for Change."
Extract operates through Gemini's multimodal reasoning capabilities accessed via Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform. The system performs polygon extraction using Gemini's visual reasoning to recognise relevant map features, then accesses tools including OpenCV, Ordnance Survey and Segment Anything to extract complex shapes defining planning constraints. For georeferencing, Gemini identifies addresses, road intersections and landmarks to generate modern, geolocated maps using Ordnance Survey data and feature mapping models like LoFTR.
Currently testing with numerous councils—Hillingdon Council, Westminster City Council, Nuneaton and Bedworth Council, and Exeter City Council—Extract will be available to all councils by Spring 2026. Tom Shardlow, CEO of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, noted: "Working with the Extract team, we have seen the outputs from Extract, and how these could improve our service, providing high quality, digital, GeoSpatial data and how this could speed up the process for our Planning Team."
Matthew Wallbridge, Hillingdon Council's Chief Operating Officer, emphasised efficiency gains: "The UK Planning System relies on paper-based processes, and AI can help to read and then extract the key information from it, to help both residents and planning officers. The productivity benefits will allow for a faster and cheaper service."
Google will support Extract's national scaling through secure hosting on Google Cloud with AI and engineering advice to enhance capabilities. The UK Government demonstrates potential for AI applications across public services, with projections showing generative AI could increase GP appointments by 3.7 million, improve teacher-student ratios by 16%, and free police resources equivalent to over 160,000 officers.
Extract represents a significant advancement in public sector AI deployment, demonstrating complex multimodal AI applications for government efficiency. Success could accelerate similar AI implementations across health, education, and other government sectors, potentially positioning the UK as a leader in public sector AI innovation.