We are putting AI to the test. Can you change your name using AI? Will a chat guide you through every step accurately and create the right forms? We look at how much AI can actually help with your name change and where it falls short.
As technology continues to evolve and AI gets smarter and smarter, “just ask ChatGPT” has become THE go-to answer for help and answers to nearly anything and everything…even legally changing your name. Of course, it’s easy to see the appeal! It’s quick, it’s free, and it’s “instant” (but is it really?). Our experts at NameSwitch, have been helping people navigate the name change process for almost 10 years and we know just how much can be involved. So, we decided to put AI to the test. How much can it really help with your name change and where does it fall short?
Legally changing your name is not a simple “tick-the-box and forget it” task. It requires providing a formal name change request accompanied by supporting legal evidence to government bodies and organisations, including, the HM Passport Office, DVLA, HMRC, your banking provider, employer, your GP…and that is just the start! The average name-changer will need to notify more than 24 organisations, each with their own processes and requirements, so it’s important to get it right and spare you the hassle of having to start again!
The evidence you’ll need will depend on your circumstance. For example, if you’re changing a maiden name to a married name, a marriage or civil partnership certificate can be used. For other circumstances, you may need a deed poll or a decree absolute/final order. Unsure which applies to you? Check out NameSwitch’s free guide series for answers to all of your questions.
Once you have the documentation in place (we recommend having 2-4 official copies), the next step is notifying each organisation that has your previous name on record. Some will require original/certified copies, while others will be happy with a photocopy, digital copy or a simple email. Since each organisation has their own set of rules it’s important to know who needs what before you get started. This is exactly where NameSwitch can help!
To be fair to AI tools, they can be useful for some aspects of changing your name. For example:
If you’re simply looking for a starting point or basic information, AI can be genuinely useful and it’s free or already included in the plan you’re paying for. However, the key thing to understand is where AI can help versus where you need secure, accurate and personalised guidance based on your own name change circumstances.
Whilst AI can be helpful, it’s extremely difficult to replace a system actually built for this exact job and replicate the years of first-hand experience and expertise in processing name changes ranging from the straightforward and simple to super-complex scenarios.
The Know How: AI models will confidently provide incorrect or outdated information particularly when requirements vary between organisations or change over time. For example, an AI tool may confuse the requirements for England vs Scotland or fail to identify special requirements that may apply to dual-nationals or those applying to change their name using a deed poll.
NameSwitch, the UK’s leading experts on all things name change. We have built-up years of extensive knowledge of change sequencing, organisational policies and procedures, and evidence required. But most importantly we are up to date on requirement changes, fee updates, current forms and processes. Everything is mapped onto our secure system and we are proud to ensure you get it right first time.
Security and Privacy: With AI, your personal data isn’t necessarily protected. To get useful information, you may be tempted to provide sensitive details such as your full name, date of birth, even account or reference numbers. You shouldn’t need to hand over this type of information to a chat tool which might not be secure, even if you are on a paid plan. If you’re using free tools or AI search engines, it’s important to treat any personal data you share with extreme caution.
When changing your name with NameSwitch, you can rest assured that your data is safe and secure. And we take it seriously. Your data is encrypted and stored on a secure portal and all profiles are automatically deleted from our servers after 6 months or sooner, upon written request. We will never sell or share your sensitive data with third parties. You can find out more about our privacy policy here.
Time: AI can tell you what forms you need and help you draft letters or emails, but there is a big difference between telling you what to do and actually doing it for you. AI cannot independently manage your entire name change process, pre-populate your forms, prepare a deed poll (if required), create personalised notification documents, or ensure that everything is correctly formatted, addressed and ready to submit. You are on your own to assemble the documents and even missing form entries, minor discrepancies, or incorrect wording can cause delays or result in your documents being rejected.
NameSwitch handles all of this for you! With your name change notification package, all letters and forms are pre-populated for you and each and every profile is checked by our team for errors or notable missing companies. The mission is simple: get your name change right the first time!
Trust: Because AI is not always 100% accurate, it can be difficult to know whether the information given is current and relevant to your circumstance. Most importantly, if an AI-generated answer is wrong, there is no specialist on-hand to help. And you may only find out about any errors when you receive a rejection letter from a government body or company.
NameSwitch has been helping people change their names for more than 9 years and has been recognised as offering exceptional service from the likes of Hitched, feefo and Trustpilot.
We have established relationships with key government bodies and businesses, undergo bi-annual audits, and our award winning customer service team is always on hand if you need a little extra help.
With AI becoming a part of our everyday lives, we decided to put AI to the test. Could AI actually replace a service like NameSwitch? Our founder Cécile, decided to find out and the results were fascinating!
*Note: No personal data was shared and, she was not logged into a ChatGPT account. A free service was used on an incognito google chrome window.
The test started off great! We entered 26 government bodies and companies into the chat and voila – it confidently produced fancy responses and colourful checklists. But knowing her stuff, Cécile asked some questions, challenging it multiple times, quickly discovering that many of the responses were incorrect or misleading.
1 hour and 41 minutes, and 156 transcript pages later, ChatGPT had acknowledged over a dozen mistakes. And in true AI fashion, it apologised. Many, many times. Since AI is constantly learning, we realised that this little experiment fed it a LOT of valuable information. So, we decided to try it again and see if it improved.
Our next attempt did produce better answers (same 26 companies, no personal data was shared). Of course it did, we’d fed it more knowledge. However, it still came back with multiple “hallucinations,” changing sequencing recommendations, the number of original copies required, what organisations to treat as priority and where to download forms.
This second attempt, having more succinct prompting, took about half the time and resulted in 101 transcript pages based on one list of companies and a further 39 questions posed by Cécile.
All in all, the Intelligent tool corrected itself 19 times! The estimated additional time needed to work side by side to prepare each notification request kept on creeping up and up… reaching 3-4 further hours needed by the end of the chat. It remained miles away from providing a full-service name change solution that is secure and accurate EVERY time.
What we’ve learned is that doing it yourself takes about 14 hours, using ChatGPT/AI tools takes about 3-4 hours (plus some important fact checking and research). NameSwitch will have you on the road to using your new name in about 30 minutes.
At the end of the day, there is no magic button that will change your name instantly. And this is the same across the globe. No matter the situation, you will still need to put some effort into it – how much effort is down to you to weigh up.
The average name changer notifies approximately 24 different government bodies, local authorities, and companies. Figuring out who needs what can be daunting and takes 14 hours on average! Most name changers find this process tedious and overly complicated.
NameSwitch has created a UK first and only award-winning namechange toolkit to help simplify this process. Change your name with speed and ease saving you so much time and with peace of mind that you’ll get it right first time.
In just 3 easy steps you can select who you need to notify from 700 government bodies, local authorities, and companies. You only need to enter your details once. You’ll have instant access to download your pre-populated name change letters, forms and personalised instructions ready for you to print and sign.
Need our expert advice? Why not check out our FAQs or Get in touch with our UK-based support team for a human response - we are here to help.
Dive into our practical Nameswitch guides.
Learn how to change your name on your drivers licence, on your Facebook account and how to handle updating your COVID pass along with your passport
Get your free name-change checklist to help you plan out all of the companies, government bodies and profiles you need to notify of your new name.
