As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly set up a PAYE scheme.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open GOV.UK guidance on becoming an employer and read the current PAYE registration requirements before sharing any information with a chatbot.
   2. Gather your business structure, employer details, planned first payday, payroll frequency, director status, employee start dates and existing payroll software details.
   3. Paste only the non-sensitive summary into the prompt, leaving out National Insurance numbers, bank details, full addresses and other unnecessary personal data.
   4. Ask the chatbot to separate HMRC registration, payroll software configuration, workplace pension duties and recurring payroll reporting into distinct sections.
   5. Open each GOV.UK link returned by the chatbot and compare its current instructions with the checklist, correcting any missing or outdated step.
   6. Complete the HMRC employer registration and payroll software setup yourself, or send the verified checklist and relevant records to your accountant or payroll professional.
   7. Run a test payroll or draft payroll period in the chosen software, then compare the employee details, pay inputs and deductions with your source records before submitting any report or payment.

   Prompt

   I run a UK business and need to set up PAYE for the first time. Help me prepare, but do not claim that you have registered me with HMRC, accessed any account or submitted anything. Use current GOV.UK guidance and give links to the relevant pages.
   
   Business details:
   - Business structure: [limited company, partnership or sole trader]
   - Number of employees: [number]
   - Planned first payday: [date]
   - Payroll frequency: [weekly, monthly or other]
   - Company or business start date: [date]
   - Existing payroll software: [name or none]
   - Pension duties or workplace pension provider: [details or not known]
   - Benefits, directors or irregular payments: [details or none]
   
   Produce:
   1. A step-by-step list of what I need to do to register and operate PAYE, separating HMRC registration from payroll software setup.
   2. A list of the exact business, employee and payroll information I need to gather, without asking me to paste unnecessary sensitive personal data.
   3. The GOV.UK pages I should check for each step, with links.
   4. Questions I should ask an accountant or payroll professional where the answer depends on my circumstances.
   5. A final checklist showing what I must personally complete, what software can automate and what a professional should verify.
   
   Do not invent deadlines, tax rates, thresholds, employment classifications or pension duties. If current guidance is unclear or has changed, say so and direct me to GOV.UK. This is not professional advice.

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