Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Adult Social Care
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used more frequently in adult social care to support practitioners and the people they work with. Examples of how AI is being used include:
- Voice-to-text software to support with assessment writing and reduce time spent on administrative tasks;
- AI-powered sensors or cameras to detect falls;
- Voice assistants (such as Alexa or Google Assistant) to help with reminders, hands-free control, or to alert others in an emergency;
- Data analysis to help identify risks early;
- Chatbots or virtual assistants to provide quick guidance or signposting.
These tools can be helpful, but they should be used carefully. AI should support person-centred practice, not replace professional judgement. Decisions should always involve careful consideration and human oversight to ensure they are fair, ethical, and in the best interests of the people receiving support.
There is currently no statutory guidance on the use of AI in adult social care, but professional and regulatory standards still apply.
Social Work England sets out professional standards that registered social workers must follow to provide safe, effective, and responsible care. These standards apply to the use of AI in practice and support ethical, fair, and person-centred decision-making.
Standard 3: Be accountable for your practice
As a social worker, you should:
- Work within legal and ethical frameworks, applying professional judgement carefully;
- Use knowledge and skills to meet the needs of people and families affected by physical or mental ill health, disability, substance misuse, abuse, or neglect;
- Keep improving skills in communication and digital technology, adjusting practices as new tools emerge;
- Maintain clear, accurate, and up-to-date records that show how decisions were made.
Standard 5: Act safely, respectfully, and with professional integrity
As a social worker, you should:
- Avoid using technology, social media, or other forms of electronic communication in unlawful or unethical ways;
- Ensure professional conduct, online and offline, reflects the values of the profession.
The HCPC regulates a range of health professionals. While it does not provide AI-specific guidance, its standards can help practitioners use digital tools safely and responsibly:
- Standard 6: Maintain confidentiality - ensure informed consent and privacy across all digital platforms;
- Standard 7: Communicate effectively - use digital and communication tools appropriately to support people in your care;
- Standard 9: Maintain records - apply digital record-keeping where required;
- Standard 13: Draw on appropriate knowledge and skills - adapt your approach when new technologies or circumstances arise.
It is important that you are also familiar with, and have regard to any local policy and guidance regarding the use of AI. If in any doubt, seek the advice of your line manager. For further information see the local case file recording policy.
In Cheshire West and Chester Adult Social Care there are two types of AI Software in use.
Magic Notes:
What is Magic Notes?
Magic Notes is an AI-powered transcription and summarisation tool developed by Beam, designed specifically to support professionals in Adult Social Care (ASC). It records, transcribes, and summarises assessment meetings. It helps reduce workload by generating accurate draft notes, allowing staff to focus more on client interaction, and helping to reduce administrative burden, improve accuracy, and enhance service delivery.
Who can use Magic Notes?
All staff involved in conducting assessments within Adult Social Care are eligible to use Magic Notes. Access is granted following mandatory training.
When can I start using Magic Notes?
You can begin using Magic Notes after you have completed a training session. You can access an e-learning course, or book on to an hour training with a trainer here: Training Hub - Magic Notes.
If you require an account please make contact with the adult social care transformation team who can register you.
Key Features and Benefits
- Automated Transcription & Summarisation: Converts audio recordings into full transcripts and concise summaries, reducing manual notetaking;
- Custom Templates: Co-designed with ASC teams to ensure relevance and usability;
- Device Compatibility: Works across various platforms and includes offline functionality—ideal for rural or low-connectivity areas.
- Accessibility: Supports neurodivergent users and those with visual or hearing impairments;
- Operational Efficiency: Frees up staff time for direct client engagement, helping to successfully manage increasing caseloads.
Strategic Context and Impact
- Capacity Building: Magic Notes is part of a broader strategy to meet rising demand in ASC;
- Staff Wellbeing: Early trials showed improved staff satisfaction and reduced stress linked to documentation tasks;
- Quality of Practice: Enhanced accuracy and consistency in assessment records, even in challenging audio environments (e.g., accents, background noise).
How do I access Magic Notes?
You can log in at My notes - Magic Notes or type in https://magicnotes.ai using your Council email via Chrome or Edge browsers. No software installation is required, just access it through your browser on a desktop or mobile device (including personal devices). Save the page as a favourite to retain easy access.
Do I need to get consent before recording?
Before using Magic Notes in any conversation with a person drawing upon care and support (including carers), explicit consent must be obtained. Staff must:
- Explain what Magic Notes is, including how it works and how the data will be used;
- Ask for consent to use Magic Notes at the start of the meeting;
- Respect objections: If the person does not consent, Magic Notes must not be used. If consent is withdrawn during the meeting, the recording must stop immediately. Any recording made up to that point may still be used unless the meeting is deemed ineffective.
If consent is not given, staff must record the conversation manually.
How do I explain Magic Notes to Service Users?
What if participants change their mind during a recording?
Participants can withdraw consent at any time. If this happens, stop the recording immediately and revert to manual notetaking.
What if the person lacks capacity to consent to the recording?
When using Magic Notes with a person lacking capacity, it is important to ensure that the recording is made in their best interests and in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. The act requires that all practicable steps be taken to help the person make their own decision, as far as it is practicable to do so. This includes providing the necessary information, support, and tools to facilitate the decision-making process.
What happens to the recordings and summaries?
Recordings are temporarily cached on your device and then uploaded to secure AWS storage. Transcripts and summaries are generated using private AI models and are not accessible to third parties. Data is retained as defined by policy. Recordings will automatically be deleted after 90 days in line with the agreed retention schedule, however best practice is for the recording to be manually deleted as soon as the worker has pasted the relevant information into Liquid Logic.
Can I use Magic Notes offline?
Yes. Magic Notes supports offline functionality. Audio is cached locally and uploaded once a connection is re-established. You need to ensure you have logged in before attending a visit where there is likely to be a lack of service which will enable this to then be saved and uploaded once internet signal is regained.
Can I use Magic Notes for meetings other than assessments?
No. While the technology is bedding in, we will monitor use and impact. While initially focused on Strength-Based and OT Assessments, Magic Notes may also be developed to support other assessments such as MCA, and Risk Assessment.
Please note that Copilot chat is available to support you in other meetings including supervision. Guidance on using Copilot can be found here: What is AI and Copilot?
Important safeguards
All outputs from Magic Notes must be carefully reviewed by the staff member before being used in assessments or care planning on liquid logic. AI must not be used to make decisions about a person’s care and support. It is a tool to support more efficient and accurate recording of information—not a decision-making system. Your professional judgement remains essential in all aspects of your work. You must ensure that the output provided is detailed, clear and accurate.
Information Governance & Retention
A large volume of data can be quickly generated using Magic notes. Once you have processed the data from magic notes please delete the recording. Recordings will automatically be deleted after 90 days
This is due to Freedom of Information / Subject Access Request implications. If all of the draft information is retained, the Information Governance team would need to review all held information and the client has a right of access.
Copilot:
What is Copilot and who can use it?
Copilot is a Microsoft AI-powered assistant designed to help with writing, coding, generating ideas, answering questions, and more. It’s available to all Council employees and anyone can use it when it’s appropriate for AI to assist.
Do I need a licence to use Copilot?
There are two main types of Copilot access:
- Copilot Chat: Available to everyone within the organisation, secured within your tenant;
- Full Copilot Licence: Offers additional features, if you think you may need this additional functionality, contact DDAT to discuss.
How do I access Copilot?
- Type in Copilot into the search field on the task bar in Windows;
- Copilot Chat can be accessed directly via your Microsoft 365 environment;
- You can click on the app launcher in the main SharePoint toolbar;
- Or you may see the copilot button appear when you have documents open.
What can Copilot help me with?
Copilot can assist with managing your workload, for example:
- Drafting reports and presentations;
- Reviewing and summarising documents (including redaction);
- Drafting emails;
- Automating repetitive tasks;
- Seeking policy advice and guidance;
- Supporting internal meetings with transcription and summarisation / production of minutes.
DDAT have confirmed that copilot and copilot chat are fully secure and can be used with client information.
Do I need to get consent before recording?
Before using Copilot in meetings, explicit consent must be obtained from all participants present. Staff must:
- Explain what Copilot is, including how it works and how the data will be used;
- Ask for consent to use Copilot at the start of the meeting;
- Respect objections: If the someone does not consent, Copilot must not be used. If consent is withdrawn during the meeting, the recording must stop immediately. Any recording made up to that point may still be used unless the meeting is deemed ineffective.
If consent is not given, staff must record the conversation manually.
What if participants change their mind during a recording?
Participants can withdraw consent at any time. If this happens, stop the recording immediately and revert to manual notetaking.
What if the person lacks capacity to consent to the recording?
When using Copilot with a person lacking capacity, it is important to ensure that the recording is made in their best interests and in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. The act requires that all practicable steps be taken to help the person make their own decision, as far as it is practicable to do so. This includes providing the necessary information, support, and tools to facilitate the decision-making process.
When should I not use Copilot?
- When handling information that should not be processed by AI, for example legally privileged information (legal advice received) or if a client has specifically requested we do not use AI with their data;
- For tasks where human judgement is essential or required by policy;
- If unsure, ask your manager.
How do I get support or training for Copilot?
- Attend internal webinars (e.g., Copilot Chat Webinars) for live demonstrations, tips, and Q&A with Microsoft experts. Recordings and slides are often shared afterwards;
- Check the AI hub on the Intranet for guides and resources - AI Hub;
- Contact your digital programme managers or Copilot champions for help.
How do I use Copilot for meeting notes and transcriptions?
- If you are using Copilot Chat, please log a call with the IT helpdesk to request that transcription is turned on in your Microsoft Teams;
- Use Teams to transcribe a conversation / meeting, and then you can ask Copilot Chat to work with the transcription to produce your desired output;
- Copilot itself will only produce a transcription if you are using the licensed version;
- For instructions, you can also reach out to colleagues who have experience with using Copilot for meetings.
Important safeguards
All outputs from Copilot must be carefully reviewed by the staff member. AI must not be used to make decisions about a person needing care and support. It is a tool to support more efficient and accurate recording of information—not a decision-making system. Your professional judgement remains essential in all aspects of your work. You must ensure that the output provided is detailed, clear and accurate.
Information Governance & Retention
A large volume of data can be quickly generated using Copilot. Please save the final output to a secure location (SharePoint / Liquid Logic) and delete any Copilot working / draft documents, for example outputs from queries.
This is due to Freedom of Information / Subject Access Request implications. If all of the draft information is retained, the Information Governance team would need to review all held information and the client has a right of access.
Last Updated: May 22, 2026
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