HMRC to use voice recognition to speed up calls

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the United Kingdom recently announced the introduction of voice recognition technology as a new form of identity verification, aimed at accelerating the processing speed of telephone inquiry services. This move is part of a series of government measures to improve the efficiency of HMRC services, making them "faster, fairer, and more modern." This initiative reflects a broader trend of leveraging technology to enhance public service delivery.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, stated that HMRC is trialing a voice recognition system commonly used by banks to improve telephone processing efficiency. He emphasized that this will enable callers to pass security checks "faster and more securely." The system is expected to be rolled out to all HMRC telephone lines within this year, promising a significant improvement in customer experience.

The system works by converting customers' recordings into encrypted biometric data, which is then used to verify identity and complete security checks. Previously, HMRC had been heavily criticized for failing to answer a large number of calls and for excessively long telephone waiting times. Mr. Murray announced these plans in a speech to tax professionals on Tuesday, outlining the benefits of this technological upgrade.

Mr. Murray stated, "We are reforming the way HMRC operates faster and more deeply." This includes simplifying systems, such as the tax process for declaring side hustle income, and drawing on private sector experience to improve customer service efficiency. However, a report by the Public Accounts Committee revealed that in the first 11 months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, 43,690 customers waiting for 70 minutes had their calls directly disconnected because HMRC's system could not handle such a large volume of calls, highlighting the challenges HMRC faces.

The committee claimed that HMRC deliberately provides "poor" telephone service in an attempt to push taxpayers to seek help online. However, HMRC officials called this claim "completely unfounded" and stated that they have made significant improvements in service standards. Last March, HMRC announced that its telephone lines would be closed from April to September, but was forced to withdraw the decision within 24 hours, illustrating the public scrutiny and the need for reliable service.