Every Objection Counts – Including AI-Generated Ones
There’s been a lot of noise lately from critics claiming that AI-generated representations “submitted via ObjectNow” don’t count in planning decisions. Today, we can finally put that rumour to rest.
Thanks to Communities B4 Power Companies, we now have written confirmation from the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU) that all representations are processed individually and independently.
Here’s what the ECU confirmed in writing on 24 June 2025:
“We recognise that even representations generated using AI are unique to the individual due to different content and personal comments.”
Energy Consents Unit Scotland
This is a significant moment for every campaign group and community member using ObjectNow to submit legally valid and personally tailored objections. It confirms what we’ve always said: we work hard to make sure every obejection via our system — counts.
The ECU makes it clear that representations are only treated as a petition when they receive them in that format- for example, when a single representation is received with a list of names alongside.
That is not how ObjectNow operates. Every submission via ObjectNow is sent as an individual email, written uniquely for the person submitting it, with space for personalisation built in, which guarantees it will be treated as such.
