For decades, SWOT analysis has been one of the most familiar strategic planning tools in Britain’s classrooms, boardrooms, local councils, and public institutions. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats: a simple quadrant promising to help decision-makers step back, take stock, and build a clearer picture of the strategic landscape. It is a framework so ingrained in British organisational life that it is often taken for granted, deployed quickly, and—if we are honest—sometimes mechanically.
Yet in 2023 and 2024, something unexpected happened. A tool that once seemed almost quaint was suddenly revitalised by the arrival of generative AI models such as ChatGPT. And in 2025, the acceleration has not slowed. If anything, it has intensified. Across sectors—from the NHS to fintech startups, from secondary schools to manufacturing firms in the Midlands—leaders are discovering that ChatGPT offers a dramatically different way to conduct SWOT analysis: faster, more data-rich, more iterative, and often more insightful.
But with these benefits come significant questions:
Does ChatGPT risk oversimplifying nuanced issues?
Can it hallucinate risks or miss critical threats?
Could its outputs inadvertently embed biases into strategic decision-making?
And are British organisations ready for the governance challenges that come with AI-assisted strategic planning?
As a member of a UK academic council, I have had a front-row seat to the debates unfolding across higher education, industry, and public policy. The question is no longer whether generative AI should play a role in SWOT analysis. The question is how we ensure it does so responsibly, effectively, and in ways that genuinely benefit British society and the British economy.
This article aims to give British readers a balanced, accessible, and practical guide to the opportunities and risks of using ChatGPT for SWOT analysis—while reflecting on the broader ethical and strategic implications for our national future.
Before diving into the AI transformation, it is worth revisiting why SWOT analysis became so popular in the first place. Its appeal lies in three core qualities:
Simplicity
It is easy to explain and requires minimal training. Staff at every level can participate.
Versatility
It works for individuals, teams, organisations, technologies, national strategies, and even personal development.
Accessibility
Many strategic tools demand extensive data, modelling capability, or specialist expertise. SWOT, by contrast, can be initiated with little more than a pen and paper.
However, simplicity can also be a weakness. Traditional SWOT analyses often suffer from:
vague statements (“We need better marketing”),
bias from whoever happens to be in the room,
outdated assumptions,
a tendency to list obvious points while missing deeper issues, and
a lack of connection to external data or emerging trends.
Moreover, traditional SWOT analysis can be slow—especially in large organisations where multiple stakeholders must provide input.
In short: SWOT was ripe for innovation. And generative AI arrived at precisely the right moment.
ChatGPT introduces capabilities that radically change the speed, depth, and quality of a SWOT analysis. The advantages are not merely about automation or convenience; they are structural shifts in how analysis is conducted.
ChatGPT can digest large volumes of information—strategic documents, annual reports, market trend summaries, policy texts, competitor analyses—and distil them into coherent SWOT components in minutes.
This does not replace human strategic judgement, but it does radically accelerate the research phase.
Britain’s economy is increasingly shaped by interdisciplinary forces: energy transition intersects with technology; AI intersects with the labour market; geopolitics intersects with supply chain risk.
ChatGPT can analyse multiple domains simultaneously, helping to surface cross-sectoral insights that humans might overlook.
Any public sector leader will recognise the experience of spending three hours in a meeting generating a list of strengths and weaknesses—only to realise half of them were already known.
ChatGPT can produce a first draft that shortens meetings, allowing human time to be spent on discussion, challenge, and refinement rather than starting from scratch.
A well-constructed prompt can encourage ChatGPT to behave like a critical friend:
“What risks are we likely underestimating?”
“Which weaknesses would competitors highlight that we have not admitted?”
“What emerging technologies might disrupt this sector in the next five years?”
This type of questioning often surfaces insights that traditional groupthink suppresses.
ChatGPT can generate multiple versions of a SWOT depending on hypothetical scenarios—something that would be extremely time-consuming for humans:
“What if interest rates rise another 1.5%?”
“What if our main supplier exits the UK market?”
“What if AI automation accelerates faster than predicted?”
This allows British organisations to become more resilient and forward-looking.
Although SWOT analyses generated by ChatGPT vary depending on prompts and context, several recurring strengths can be observed across real-world applications in the UK.
Even for complex topics—such as UK higher education funding reforms or post-Brexit trade challenges—ChatGPT can produce initial drafts quickly and at a level that would typically require significant expertise.
ChatGPT can draw on global contexts. For example:
What is happening with renewable energy strategy in Scandinavia?
How do US tech firms structure digital transformation programmes?
How are Asian universities integrating AI literacy into their curricula?
This gives British organisations a wider field of vision.
Human-generated SWOT analyses depend heavily on who participates. AI-generated SWOTs are consistent, thorough, and free from fatigue.
ChatGPT can tailor a SWOT analysis for:
a board of directors,
secondary school pupils,
investors,
community stakeholders,
or frontline staff.
This flexibility increases accessibility.
When provided with relevant data, ChatGPT can incorporate it directly:
demographic trends,
labour market forecasts,
climate projections,
consumer behaviour data,
sector-specific statistics.
This enriches the analysis beyond gut feeling.
While ChatGPT’s strengths are impressive, its weaknesses are equally significant—and must be understood clearly, especially by British organisations subject to regulatory, ethical, or public accountability obligations.
ChatGPT can fabricate:
data points,
causal links,
competitor claims,
or market conditions.
This is especially risky if decision-makers treat its outputs as authoritative.
A model can identify abstract weaknesses (“staff burnout risk”) but cannot feel organisational culture. Human insight is essential to interpret the emotional, interpersonal, or political dimensions.
If certain industries, regions, or communities are underrepresented in AI training data, the model may produce skewed SWOT analyses.
For example, it might overestimate strengths of large corporates and underestimate the resilience of SMEs or community groups.
A well-phrased AI analysis can lull readers into overconfidence. “This analysis looks polished, therefore it must be right.”
This is a dangerous illusion.
ChatGPT sometimes defaults to generic statements unless provided with highly specific contextual details. As a result, SWOT analyses can become too broad to be actionable.
If used wisely, ChatGPT can unlock transformative opportunities across Britain’s public, private, and third sectors.
Previously, detailed strategic analysis required specialist consultants. AI tools can give smaller businesses, charities, and local councils analytical capabilities once reserved for large organisations.
Public bodies can rapidly generate analyses linked to policy shifts. For example:
A local authority exploring clean energy investment
A devolved government examining skills shortages
A school trust evaluating AI literacy programmes
ChatGPT can synthesise evidence, then humans contextualise it.
The UK is in a global race to harness AI for economic growth. Effective use of AI-assisted strategic planning could help organisations respond faster to technological disruption.
British students—from GCSE to postgraduate level—can learn strategic thinking with AI as a partner, gaining skills for an increasingly data-driven economy.
AI-assisted SWOT analyses can help organisations prepare for:
climate shocks,
geopolitical tensions,
supply chain disruptions,
labour shortages,
cyber-risks.
Rapid scenario generation is a major national advantage.
If leaders rely too heavily on AI-generated analyses, human strategic capacity may erode. Britain must avoid creating a generation of managers who outsource their thinking.
Uploading sensitive information into AI systems—unless deployed in secure, enterprise-grade environments—poses legal and ethical risks.
Without clear guidelines, organisations may make decisions based on flawed or biased analyses, potentially leading to:
discrimination,
misallocation of public funds,
reputational damage.
If only some organisations adopt AI strategically, the gap between the most digitally mature and the least prepared may widen.
The UK must ensure strategic sovereignty by developing capability and literacy, not relying solely on external vendors.
Below is a simple, practical model that British organisations can adopt immediately. I have tested this structure with local councils, SMEs, universities, and NHS Trusts.
Provide ChatGPT with a clear context:
organisation type
size
sector
location
strategic priorities
recent challenges
The more detailed the context, the better the output.
The first draft is a starting point, not a strategic truth.
Ask questions such as:
“What might this analysis be missing?”
“Which weaknesses or threats are most likely to be politically sensitive?”
“Where might this SWOT be biased?”
This process is essential.
No AI can replace:
tacit organisational knowledge,
awareness of personalities,
understanding of local politics,
institutional memory.
Human refinement is indispensable.
Consider:
data privacy
fairness and equity
transparency
accountability
Make sure decisions based on AI outputs comply with UK regulatory frameworks.
“This SWOT assumes a stable economy. Now generate versions assuming…”
recession
unexpected tech disruption
demographic shifts
supply chain crises
This reveals blind spots.
Record how AI was used and what human oversight was applied. This protects the organisation and improves future practice.
Used for service redesign, workforce planning, and digital transformation strategies. Benefits include rapid evidence synthesis, though caution is required regarding patient data.
Universities use AI to examine:
international student recruitment challenges
research funding vulnerabilities
competition from global online learning providers
AI helps articulate complex pressures quickly.
Councils use AI-assisted SWOT analyses to explore:
regeneration projects
transport strategy
sustainability planning
This accelerates consultation phases.
Smaller firms use ChatGPT to conduct rapid market analysis, helping level the playing field against larger competitors.
Multinationals use AI to compare British operations against international benchmarks, identifying strengths and threats in a global context.
As generative AI becomes embedded in organisational life, the UK faces important governance challenges.
Organisations should disclose when AI contributes significantly to strategic documents.
Human leaders—not AI tools—must remain responsible for decisions.
AI-generated analyses must be checked for bias to avoid disadvantaging marginalised groups.
The UK Government, devolved administrations, and public bodies should develop consistent frameworks for safe AI use in strategic planning.
Britain must ensure that everyone—from frontline workers to senior executives—has the knowledge to use AI tools critically and responsibly.
By 2030, SWOT analysis may be:
continuously updated,
automatically linked to live data,
personalised to specific decision contexts,
integrated with economic modelling,
collaborative across AI and human teams,
embedded in digital strategic dashboards.
But such transformation requires ethical leadership, digital literacy, and public engagement.
ChatGPT does not make SWOT analysis obsolete. Instead, it gives Britain an opportunity to rethink how we approach strategic planning itself.
If used thoughtfully, responsibly, and critically, AI can:
enhance analytical depth,
democratise strategy,
accelerate decision-making,
strengthen national competitiveness,
and support evidence-based decisions across society.
But if used carelessly or uncritically, it risks embedding bias, creating overreliance, and undermining democratic accountability.
As British educators, policymakers, industry leaders, and citizens, we must ensure that AI augments—not replaces—human wisdom. SWOT analysis may be decades old, but with generative AI, it has entered a new chapter. The decisions we make now will determine whether this chapter strengthens British society or exposes it to new vulnerabilities.
Used wisely, ChatGPT can help us see our strengths clearly, face our weaknesses honestly, seize opportunities boldly, and confront threats with resilience.
The tool is powerful. The responsibility is ours.
