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Can AI write a COSHH assessment?
Short answer
AI can help draft a COSHH assessment, for example by pulling hazards and precautions out of a safety data sheet, but it cannot do the assessment for you. Under the COSHH Regulations 2002 the employer must make sure a competent person assesses how the substance is actually used on site. Check every line against the data sheet and HSE guidance.
What the law requires
COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. HSE's guidance says employers must:
- Identify harmful substances, including those your work creates, such as wood dust from sanding, silica dust from cutting tiles or blocks, and welding fumes.
- Assess who could be harmed and how: breathing it in, skin contact or swallowing, how often and for how long.
- Control the risks, starting with elimination or a safer substitute, then changing the process, then engineering controls such as on tool extraction, and personal protective equipment last.
- Record the significant findings if you employ five or more people.
- Review the assessment when something changes.
The assessment must be "suitable and sufficient". You can do it yourself or delegate to a competent person, someone with the knowledge, experience and authority to do it well. No formal qualification is required, but an AI tool is not a competent person.
Where AI genuinely helps
- Reading safety data sheets: paste in sections 2, 7, 8 and 11 and ask for the hazards, exposure limits, recommended controls and PPE in plain English.
- Building a template: a consistent table for substance, task, who is exposed, route, controls, PPE, first aid and storage.
- Turning notes into clear wording: writing up what you decided so the team understands it.
- Toolbox talks: a short briefing for the crew based on your final assessment.
Where AI goes wrong
- It invents exposure limits or quotes American standards instead of the UK's EH40 workplace exposure limits.
- It gives generic PPE, such as "wear a mask", when the job needs a specific grade, such as FFP3, and face fit testing.
- It does not know your site: ventilation, confined spaces, who else is working nearby or whether members of the public pass by.
- It may describe controls you do not actually have, which makes the document dangerous and worthless as evidence.
A safe method
- Get the current safety data sheet from the supplier for each product.
- Walk the job and note how the substance is used, for how long and by whom.
- Give AI the data sheet and your notes, and ask for a draft in your template.
- Check every hazard statement, limit and control against the data sheet and HSE's COSHH guidance.
- Remove anything you will not actually do, and add site specific controls.
- Sign it off yourself, brief the team and keep a copy with the job file.
A prompt you can adapt
"Using only the safety data sheet below and my notes, draft a COSHH assessment table for a UK site. Columns: task, substance, hazard, who is exposed and how, existing controls, extra controls needed, PPE, health surveillance, first aid, storage and disposal. Use UK terms. Where the data sheet does not say something, write 'check' rather than guessing. [paste data sheet and notes]"
Do not paste in workers' names or medical details. See is ChatGPT safe for business?
Common mistakes
- Treating the safety data sheet as the assessment. HSE says data sheets inform it but do not replace it.
- Forgetting dust and fumes created by the work, not just products bought in tins.
- Copying one assessment across every job without checking the site.
- Leaving the AI's generic wording in place, so the document does not match what happens.
Related questions
Do I need a COSHH assessment if I am self employed?
If your work could expose you or others, such as clients or the public, to hazardous substances, you need to assess and control the risk. Writing it down is required when you have five or more employees, and good practice otherwise.
Is COSHH essentials free?
Yes. HSE's COSHH essentials guidance sheets are free online and give control advice for common tasks. They can form part of your assessment if they match your task.
Can ChatGPT write a risk assessment too?
It can draft one in the same way, with the same need to check it. See can AI write a risk assessment? and can AI write a method statement?
How often should a COSHH assessment be reviewed?
Whenever the work, substance or controls change, after an incident, or if health surveillance shows a problem. Many firms also set a regular review date.
Sources
- HSE: how to carry out a COSHH risk assessment
- HSE: COSHH frequently asked questions
- HSE: chemical safety data sheets
- HSE: EH40 workplace exposure limits
- HSE: COSHH essentials
Checked 18 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
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