The BBC has published a detailed account of its approach to artificial intelligence and, separately, how it is experimenting with the technology, pledging to use it in ways that uphold public trust and editorial standards.
The move is part of a growing effort by the broadcaster to be transparent about how AI is reshaping its operations, a nod to its role as a public service broadcaster and news source.
The document outlines a cautious but forward-looking stance. It commits the BBC to using AI to support staff, improve digital services and enhance content creation — but only where it aligns with its editorial values and audience expectations. A set of AI principles has been formalised to guide this work, with all staff required to complete training on responsible use.
“We’re exploring how AI can help us serve our audiences better and provide more value for the licence fee,” the BBC said in a statement, adding that the technology is being used to support, not replace, human creativity and judgement. It noted that it has been experimenting with the technology, “which may seem new”, for many years.
The broadcaster sets out a clear framework for when and how the technology can be used in content production. This includes rules around transparency, with the BBC committing to label any AI-assisted material that might otherwise mislead audiences.
An example of this approach was piloted in BBC Sport coverage last year, where AI tools helped generate live text summaries of football matches that would otherwise have gone unreported. Each post was checked by a journalist before being published and labelled to make clear the use of automation.
The BBC defines artificial intelligence broadly, including not only generative tools that create text, audio or video, but also AI used for translation, transcription and metadata tagging. It says AI-generated content must always be subject to human oversight and used in ways that are “secure, robust and safe”, with respect for the rights of creators and contributors.
In a nod to wider concerns about the impact of generative AI on trust in media, the BBC acknowledged that synthetic media — such as images or voices created by AI — can be convincing and difficult to distinguish from human-made content. Its policy stresses the need to maintain accuracy, impartiality and accountability in all editorial decisions, regardless of the tools used.
Alongside its principles and editorial safeguards, the BBC also shared details of how it is already using AI across its services. These include improving content recommendations on iPlayer and BBC Sounds, helping personalise homepages, generating subtitles and audio descriptions, and supporting the automatic tagging of content in its vast archive.
In production workflows, AI is helping to transcribe interviews, translate content for non-English-speaking audiences, and generate visual summaries of longer programmes. Behind the scenes, AI is also being used to assist with business functions like workforce planning, monitoring carbon emissions, and improving procurement processes.
