As of 13 August 2026, AI cannot create a workplace risk assessment.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   Someone with a licence or accountable authority has to sign this before it counts.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface gets you a draft, but you cannot verify it yourself. That is the catch.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open a blank document or spreadsheet and create a notes section for the workplace, activity, people exposed, equipment, substances, vehicles, process steps, existing controls, incidents and emergency arrangements.
   2. Walk through the workplace with the person who does the job and record what happens at each process step, including access, lifting, work at height, machinery, electricity, substances, vehicles, fire, lone working and members of the public where relevant.
   3. Paste the completed notes and the copyable prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, replacing each bracketed slot with facts and leaving unknown items marked as unknown.
   4. Copy the generated table into the document or spreadsheet, keeping every [INFORMATION NEEDED] item and the separate gaps and site-check sections.
   5. Ask the workplace manager and the people who perform the work to compare each listed control with the actual workplace, then record corrections, missing hazards and evidence such as equipment instructions, training records and inspection records.
   6. Send the draft, site notes and evidence to a competent health and safety person for a completeness and control review, then have the responsible employer approve, communicate and schedule the actions before relying on the assessment.

   Prompt

   Create a draft workplace risk assessment for the activity described below. Use UK workplace terminology and plain English. Do not invent facts, measurements, regulations, hazards, controls or risk ratings. If information is missing, write [INFORMATION NEEDED] and list the question that must be answered. Treat this as a working draft, not a completed legal document or a substitute for competent safety advice.
   
   Activity and location: [describe the work and where it takes place]
   People exposed: [employees, contractors, visitors, members of the public, young or vulnerable workers]
   Equipment, substances and vehicles: [list them]
   Work process: [describe the steps in order]
   Known hazards and existing controls: [list what is already known]
   Incidents, near misses or previous concerns: [provide details or write none known]
   Emergency arrangements: [provide details or write unknown]
   
   Return a table with these columns: activity or hazard; who might be harmed and how; existing controls; further controls needed, using the hierarchy of controls where relevant; person responsible; target date; likelihood; severity; risk rating; residual risk after the further controls; monitoring and review trigger. Explain the risk-rating scale before using it, and mark any rating that depends on missing information. Add a separate section called "Gaps requiring a competent person" and another called "Questions to answer during the site check". Do not state that the assessment is legally compliant.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.