The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced an Automated Search Pilot Program in the Federal Register on October 8, 2025. This initiative evaluates the effects of providing AI-generated search results prior to substantive examination of original, noncontinuing, nonprovisional utility patent applications. By issuing an Automated Search Results Notice (ASRN) to participants, the program enables applicants to identify potential prior art concerns earlier, informing strategic decisions during prosecution.
The intent is to assess:
- The influence of pre-examination search reports on applicant behavior.
- The feasibility of scaling ASRN generation.
- Data to guide future enhancements.
The pilot targets at least 1,600 applications across Technology Centers examining utility patents.
Eligible applications are original utility filings under 35 U.S.C. 111(a), submitted electronically via Patent Center in DOCX format between October 20, 2025, and April 20, 2026 (or until 200 applications per relevant Technology Center).
Participants must enroll in the Patent Center e-Office Action Program. To join, file a petition using Form PTO/SB/470 with the petition fee under 37 CFR 1.17(f) on the application filing date. Granted petitions receive an ASRN, and ineligible ones will be dismissed without appeal.
An internal AI tool will conduct a search using the application’s Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), specification, claims, and abstract. It will query public databases, including U.S. patents, pre-grant publications, and foreign texts, and automatically rank up to 10 relevant documents. The Patent Office adds that its models will be trained on unbiased public patent data, ensuring confidentiality under 35 U.S.C. 122(a).
The ASRN will list citations with a Patent Public Search query string for retrieval. No response is required, but applicants will have options including preliminary amendments, examination deferral, or express abandonment.
Examiners will consider ASRN documents as standard prior art, potentially citing them in actions. This may also result in fewer citations by Applicants, which may reduce cost in view of the new prior art submission fees implemented by the USPTO this year.
The program is intended to expedite prosecution, improve examination quality, and refine AI applications in patent processing. The USPTO will solicit participant feedback and adhere to GAO pilot design principles, including objective-setting and outcome analysis.