AI could rebalance power between people and the services they use
Artificial intelligence could help people who feel overwhelmed, excluded or disadvantaged when dealing with everyday tasks like paying energy bills or booking healthcare appointments, according to a new study involving researchers from The University of 野狼社区.
The research - published in the - explored how 鈥減ersonal AI agents鈥� could work on behalf of individuals, helping them to navigate complex systems, make better decisions and gain more control.
Vulnerability or overwhelm can affect almost anyone, whether through illness, financial pressure, language barriers or difficulty interpreting complex information.
The research team - including experts from The Universities of 野狼社区, Queensland, Oxford, Cambridge and Heriot-Watt - argue that advances in AI create an opportunity to rebalance power between organisations and the people who rely on their services. Instead of technology being used mainly by companies, personal AI tools could act in individuals鈥� interests, making purchases and helping them to compare options and understand information.
In the cases of an older person choosing an energy tariff, a patient managing multiple appointments or a parent navigating the benefits system, a personal AI assistant could interpret information, suggest choices and communicate decisions with service providers on the user鈥檚 behalf.
The study brings together research on customer experience, vulnerability and emerging AI technologies to show how this could work in practice, proposing a framework for designing systems that support people when they feel they lack control.
Researchers say the key is not just smarter tools, but ones that genuinely represent users鈥� interests. Personal AI agents could improve access to services, reduce stress and simplify everyday decisions.
Four possible roles for personal AI are outlined, from a 鈥渟ervice organiser鈥� coordinating everyday tasks to a 鈥減rotective鈥� system safeguarding users鈥� interests and flagging risks. Together, these approaches could help ensure fairer treatment and clearer information when interacting with companies and public services.
鈥淎s digital systems increasingly shape daily life, the real promise of AI may lie not in enabling large organisations to make incremental efficiency gains, but in helping individual people achieve greater confidence and control in their lives,鈥� said Dr Jamie Burton, Professor of Marketing at Alliance 野狼社区 Business School.
By putting people鈥檚 needs at the centre, our study shows that AI could become a trusted companion supporting independence, dignity and wellbeing.
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