The UK government has signed a strategic partnership with AI voice technology company ElevenLabs to explore how AI can improve access to public services, particularly for people with disabilities, low literacy levels and those who speak languages other than English.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), announced by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), sets out plans for collaboration on public services, AI safety research and skills development through to 2030.
Building on an existing partnership between ElevenLabs and the UK AI Security Institute (AISI), the deal represents the latest in a series of partnerships between government and tech firms as ministers seek to accelerate AI adoption across the public sector.
Voice AI to support more accessible public services
A central objective of the partnership is to investigate how voice-based AI technologies could help citizens interact with government services more easily.
AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said voice AI could play an important role in making government services more inclusive. That could include helping people with visual impairments access information, support those with lower literacy levels and make services easier for older citizens to use. The partnership will explore how these capabilities perform in real-world public service environments.
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Alongside public service applications, the agreement deepens ElevenLabs’ existing collaboration with the AISI.
The organisations have already begun working together on research into how people perceive AI-generated voices and conversational agents. The expanded partnership will continue to examine whether citizens can identify when they are speaking to an AI system and how that awareness affects behaviour, trust and decision-making.
The research comes as governments and regulators increasingly focus on the risks associated with synthetic media, voice cloning and AI-generated content.
Backing UK AI growth
The partnership also includes commitments around talent development and investment in the UK AI ecosystem.
Founded in 2022, ElevenLabs, one of Europe’s highest-valued AI companies, said it plans to double its UK workforce this year and expand its London headquarters as part of a broader investment in UK-based research, engineering and commercial operations.
