On 20 May 2026, Mark Russell-Smith, Director of International Operations at AI Dimension, will be joining the Use of AI in your business panel discussion at the Homecare Association’s annual conference, The Future of Homecare 26.
AI is a hot topic at the moment, with generative AI and large language models receiving much of the attention for their ability to generate text, images and other content. These are important, but they are only one part of the AI landscape. Other forms of AI are designed to solve very different kinds of problems which generative AI are not suited for.
AI Dimension Optimisation is built for solving complex planning problems and has been used and developed internationally in homecare since 2011. Traditional homecare planning processes often rely on allocating visits one by one to available care workers. This can leave planners and managers trapped in micro-decisions: who can take this visit, who is nearby, who has the right skill, who has a gap in their schedule?
These small decisions are important, but when planning is handled one visit at a time it limits the ability to step back and make bigger decisions to improve the overall service.
AI Dimension Optimisation uses powerful AI to handle all visits and service requirements as a whole. It helps planners create routes and schedules which better balance care worker, service user and business needs, while also helping managers identify changes to improve the overall service.
Homecare providers use AI Dimension Optimisation for day-to-day operational planning and to improve their wider service by tactically optimising working practices, team structures and workforce allocation. Providers typically reduce mileage by 20–40% and can significantly improve workforce utilisation. AI Dimension Optimisation is used at scale by care systems and major homecare organisations, including one of the largest providers in Europe.
AI Dimension Optimisation also supports local authority and integrated care system leaders to strategically optimise the overall system and meet the increasing demand for care at home and plan overall workforce requirements. This includes developing operating models and workforce design for integrated neighbourhood teams. Over 100 Strategic Optimisation projects have been completed internationally, and projects in the UK are showing how these approaches and learning can be applied here.
Optimisation is much more than automatically allocating visits to available care workers. It can support providers, commissioners and care systems to understand how services currently operate, model how they could operate, and make informed decisions about how to improve quality, capacity, sustainability and cost.
We are looking forward to joining the discussion, sharing what we have learned from international work in homecare and community care, and hearing how others are approaching AI in their own organisations.
