80+ UK AI Statistics for 2026
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This page collects the most useful statistics on how UK businesses and workers use AI in 2026: how many firms have adopted it, which sectors lead and lag, what it costs, what stops adoption, and what results firms report. Every figure links to the organisation that produced it, whether that is the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, an academic working paper, a professional body or a published industry survey. None comes from another statistics roundup. Publishers collected most of this data between 2025 and mid-2026, and each entry flags fieldwork that predates its publication. If you want to know where your own business sits, the free AI audit takes five minutes.
Key takeaways
Around 35% of UK businesses with 10 or more employees reported using at least one AI technology in June 2026. ONS runs this survey on a repeating cycle, so the figure can be tracked over time. (ONS, July 2026)
UK business AI use has risen to just under three times its September 2023 level of around 12%. More firms now use AI, though each firm's count of AI tools has risen only a little. (ONS, July 2026)
Around 1 in 6 UK businesses (16%) were using at least one AI technology in spring 2025. DSIT counted smaller firms and ran its fieldwork a year before ONS. (DSIT, February 2026)
54.3% of firms in the BCC's January 2026 survey were using AI, with a further 17.5% intending to adopt. Respondents came from the BCC's membership, so weigh it against the ONS figure with care. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
58% of UK businesses in information and communication use AI, against 13% in construction. ONS highlights these two industries as the high and low ends of UK business AI use. (ONS, July 2026)
75% of AI-using UK businesses report improved workforce productivity. Firms report productivity gains more often than any other benefit. (DSIT, February 2026)
77% of AI-using UK businesses had not yet seen any change in revenue. Productivity gains have not yet shown up in the top line for most adopters. (DSIT, February 2026)
UK businesses spent a mean of £19,000 on AI-related activity in 2024, but the median was £2,000. A small number of heavy spenders pull the average far above what a typical business spends. (DSIT, February 2026)
71% of UK businesses not using AI cite a lack of identified need, and 60% cite limited AI skills. Cost does not feature among the most commonly cited barriers. (DSIT, February 2026)
Only 11% of UK businesses with 10 or more employees have given AI training to more than half their workforce. Staff training lags behind the spread of AI tools. (ONS, July 2026)
95% of SMEs using AI say it has had no impact on workforce size over the past year. The same survey finds most firms' job roles unchanged too. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
AI saves UK accounting and bookkeeping practices 7.1 hours a week on average. Senior accountants put it at close to one working day per practice. (Xero, August 2026)
36.3% of UK workers used AI for their job in early 2026, the highest of the six European countries surveyed. The UK leads the European countries in the study and trails the United States. (NBER, March 2026)
How many UK businesses use AI?
Headline adoption rates vary more than fourfold depending on who answered, which businesses each survey counted and when fieldwork ran.
Around 35% of UK businesses with 10 or more employees reported using at least one AI technology in June 2026. It comes from the Business Insights and Conditions Survey, with 38,637 businesses responding in that wave. (ONS, July 2026)
Around 1 in 6 UK businesses (16%) were using at least one AI technology in spring 2025. Fieldwork ran from February to May 2025 and included businesses with as few as five employees, which pulls the rate down. (DSIT, February 2026)
80% of UK businesses neither used AI nor had plans to adopt it. Based on the same spring 2025 fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
51% of UK businesses do not see AI as relevant to their organisation. Among non-adopters, lack of an identified need is the most commonly cited barrier in the same fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
54.3% of firms in the BCC's January 2026 survey were using AI, with a further 17.5% intending to adopt. The BCC recruited respondents through its membership network. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
71% of UK firms use at least one AI technology according to senior executives, against 78% in the US. Executive surveys report higher adoption than government business surveys, and ONS itself notes the difference in measurement. (NBER, February 2026)
Why the UK AI adoption figures disagree
| Survey | Headline UK figure | Who answered | Businesses covered | Fieldwork |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey | 35% | Businesses | 10+ employees | June 2026 |
| DSIT AI Adoption Research | 16% | Businesses, by telephone | 5+ employees | February to May 2025 |
| BCC and University of Essex | 54.3% | BCC member firms | Mostly 1 to 250 staff | January to February 2026 |
| NBER Firm Data on AI | 71% | Senior executives | Nearly 6,000 firms across four countries | February 2025 to January 2026 |
Sources: ONS, DSIT, BCC and University of Essex, NBER.
How fast is AI adoption growing in the UK?
Repeated UK measures show adoption rising among both businesses and individuals.
UK business AI use has risen to just under three times its September 2023 level of around 12%. The same ONS analysis finds each adopting business uses only slightly more AI technologies than in 2023. (ONS, July 2026)
BCC research tracked AI use among firms rising from 23% in 2023 to 25% in 2024 and 35% in 2025. Growth picked up after 2024 on the same Chamber survey series. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
96% of firms using AI in 2024 were still using it in 2025. Firms that adopt AI almost all keep using it. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
38% of firms that intended to adopt AI in 2024 had become users by 2025. Stated intention is a meaningful leading indicator of adoption a year later. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
3.1 million more people in the UK used AI tools in July 2026 than three months earlier. Measured by UKOM's Ipsos iris online audience data across computers, smartphones and tablets. (IAB UK, July 2026)
Over a third of people aged 55 and over used AI tools in July 2026, up from just over a fifth in July 2025. AI use is spreading beyond younger age groups. (IAB UK, July 2026)
Does business size change AI adoption?
Larger UK businesses are more likely to use AI, but smaller adopters report more extensive use.
28% of UK businesses with 0 to 9 employees use at least one AI technology, against 49% of those with 250 or more. Adoption climbs with business size in the ONS data. (ONS, July 2026)
14% of UK micro businesses use AI, against 23% of mid-sized and 36% of large businesses. DSIT defines micro businesses as those with five to nine employees, with fieldwork in February to May 2025. (DSIT, February 2026)
17% of AI-using businesses with 0 to 9 employees use AI extensively, against 9% of those with 250 or more employees. Small adopters are more likely to describe their AI use as extensive. (ONS, July 2026)
Around 40% of medium- to large-sized businesses are training existing staff to integrate AI skills. Training existing staff is the most common response to AI skills gaps in every size band. (ONS, July 2026)
Recruiting AI-skilled staff rises from around 2% among the smallest businesses to 10% among those with 250 or more employees. Recruiting new staff with AI-related skills is more common among larger businesses. (ONS, July 2026)
Which UK industries use AI the most and least?
Information and professional services lead, while construction and consumer-facing sectors trail. Sector guides: AI automation for accountants, AI automation for letting agents and AI automation for builders.
58% of UK businesses in information and communication use AI, against 13% in construction. ONS highlights these two industries as the high and low ends of business AI use. (ONS, July 2026)
21% of UK finance and real estate businesses and 23% of business services firms use AI, against 16% across all businesses. Fieldwork ran from February to May 2025. (DSIT, February 2026)
88% of UK construction businesses neither use AI nor plan to. Only transport and storage recorded a higher non-adoption rate among the sectors DSIT reports, based on 2025 fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
98% of UK accounting practices use AI in some way for day-to-day tasks. The figure includes occasional chatbot use and comes from a vendor survey of 515 practices in August 2025. (Xero, November 2025)
95% of UK mid-tier accountancy firms expect increased use of AI in their operating models over the next three years. Based on 35 firms with 11 to 249 principals, surveyed in February and March 2026. (ICAEW, May 2026)
Regular use of AI in specific processes rose from 12% to 19% among construction professionals between 2025 and 2026. The sample is global, drawn from the RICS Q1 2026 Global Construction Monitor. (RICS, August 2026)
UK construction and property respondents reporting no AI use fell by 17% in 2026, the largest reduction of any region. The UK was the most cautious region in the previous year's survey. (RICS, August 2026)
AI use among BCC survey firms is highest in IT and digital (78%) and lowest in other services (31%). Business-to-business professional services lead adoption across the Chamber sample. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
What are UK businesses using AI for?
Text generation dominates, and firms most often apply AI to operations, marketing and administration.
Large language models are the most used AI technology among UK businesses with 10 or more employees (18%), followed by visual content creation (16%). Robotics and other specialist AI remain rare in the same survey. (ONS, July 2026)
Close to 60% of AI-using businesses use it to improve business operations. Improving operations is the top reported use in every business size band. (ONS, July 2026)
Marketing (72%) and administration (72%) are the business areas where UK firms most often use AI, followed by IT (64%). Finance, HR and legal functions sit well below these in the 2025 fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
85% of AI-using UK businesses use natural language processing and text generation. DSIT links this to the availability of off-the-shelf generative tools, based on fieldwork from spring 2025. (DSIT, February 2026)
77% of UK businesses using or planning AI cite creative and content creation as a use. Content work leads administrative support, data analysis and automation as a planned use. (DSIT, February 2026)
67% of AI-using UK businesses apply significant human checking to AI outputs. Almost no firms send AI output out unchecked, according to the 2025 fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
Only 10% of AI-using UK businesses report using AI extensively. Most adopters use AI in a limited part of the business rather than across it. (ONS, July 2026)
How many people in the UK use AI at work and at home?
Personal AI use is now mainstream in the UK, though a sizeable minority of adults still avoid it and many are wary.
29.6 million people in the UK used AI tools in July 2026. Covers people aged 15 and over using AI websites and apps, measured by UKOM's Ipsos iris service. (IAB UK, July 2026)
33% of adults in Great Britain had not knowingly used AI in the past 12 months. Non-use rises with age, reaching two-thirds of adults aged 70 and over. (ONS, July 2026)
38% of adults in Great Britain think AI brings more risks than benefits. Women were more likely than men to hold this view in the June 2026 survey. (ONS, July 2026)
36% of adults in Great Britain agree that AI will benefit them. The share agreeing has barely changed since November 2023, while uncertainty has fallen. (ONS, July 2026)
81% of adults in Great Britain are concerned that AI makes it difficult to tell whether news or information is fake. Misinformation is the most commonly reported negative impact of AI in the survey. (ONS, July 2026)
36.3% of UK workers used AI for their job in early 2026, the highest of the six European countries surveyed. From worker surveys run in January and February 2026 across the US and Europe. (NBER, March 2026)
What stops UK businesses adopting AI?
Skills and uncertainty about where AI fits outrank cost as barriers. HeyBRB's AI Assessment answers that second question for a specific business.
71% of UK businesses not using AI cite a lack of identified need, and 60% cite limited AI skills. Fieldwork ran from February to May 2025. (DSIT, February 2026)
80% of UK businesses citing ethical concerns rate them a significant barrier to adopting AI. Ethical concerns are cited less often than skills but weigh heaviest when they are cited. (DSIT, February 2026)
76% rate high costs a significant barrier to adopting AI, and 72% say the same of unclear regulation. Large businesses were more likely than micro businesses to call cost significant in the 2025 fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
54% of AI-using UK businesses say limited AI skills stop them using it more widely. Skills remain the main constraint after adoption as well as before it. (DSIT, February 2026)
41% of UK businesses with 10 or more employees report no barriers to AI adoption. The ONS question covers barriers experienced in the last three months. (ONS, July 2026)
Around 18% of UK businesses with 100 to 249 employees say insufficient expertise has delayed AI adoption. Expertise gaps are most pronounced in upper mid-sized firms. (ONS, July 2026)
Only 11% of UK businesses with 10 or more employees have given AI training to more than half their workforce. Tool adoption is running well ahead of staff training. (ONS, July 2026)
A lack of training (36%) and experience (32%) are the top barriers to UK accountants introducing more AI. From a vendor survey of 515 accountants and bookkeepers, fieldwork August 2025. (Xero, November 2025)
How much do UK businesses spend on AI and outside expertise?
Most UK businesses spend little on AI, many do not track it, and very few hand development to outside specialists. No primary source publishes the size of the UK AI consultancy market, so this page does not quote one. For published fees, see HeyBRB's fixed-fee AI support.
UK businesses spent a mean of £19,000 on AI-related activity in 2024, but the median was £2,000. The figures cover businesses able to estimate their spend, from fieldwork in February to May 2025. (DSIT, February 2026)
35% of UK businesses using or planning AI did not know how much they had spent on it. Tracking AI spend is not yet routine for many businesses, based on fieldwork from spring 2025. (DSIT, February 2026)
31% of UK businesses using or planning AI reported no AI-related spending in 2024. Even among businesses already using AI, a notable share reported spending nothing. (DSIT, February 2026)
73% of UK businesses say their AI spending grew by more than 20% over five years. Businesses reported this in 2025 fieldwork, looking back from their 2024 spend. (DSIT, February 2026)
Fully outsourcing AI development is rare, peaking at 18% of businesses for AI hardware. DSIT found fully outsourced development was a small minority for every AI technology type. (DSIT, February 2026)
UK accounting practices spend an average of £1,746 a year on AI tools and employee training. Reported by 515 practices in August 2025 fieldwork. (Xero, November 2025)
Around 62% of UK businesses that cite a lack of AI expertise as a barrier are training or retraining existing staff. Building skills in-house is the most common response to an AI expertise gap. (ONS, July 2026)
What results are UK businesses seeing from AI?
UK adopters consistently report time and productivity gains, while revenue gains are still uncommon. When AI tools are in place but not paying off, an AI Core Audit reviews the existing setup.
75% of AI-using UK businesses report improved workforce productivity. Firms report productivity gains more often than any other benefit, based on fieldwork from spring 2025. (DSIT, February 2026)
77% of AI-using UK businesses had not yet seen any change in revenue. Productivity gains have not yet shown up in the top line for most adopters. (DSIT, February 2026)
12% of AI-using UK businesses report an increase in revenue. Revenue gains are reported far less often than productivity gains in the same 2025 fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
AI saves UK accounting and bookkeeping practices 7.1 hours a week on average. Reported by 520 senior accountants and bookkeepers in May 2026 fieldwork. (Xero, August 2026)
The time AI saves UK accounting practices is worth approximately £108,000 a year across all staff. The figure is the practices' own estimate of the value of time saved. (Xero, August 2026)
UK accountants using AI complete tasks in 31% less time on average. Self-reported by practices in August 2025 fieldwork. (Xero, November 2025)
56% of UK accounting practices say AI has reduced errors in client work. Accuracy is the most commonly reported client-service benefit in the same survey. (Xero, November 2025)
71.9% of AI-using firms expect AI to improve their productivity over the next 12 months. Among firms with no plans to adopt, almost none expect a productivity gain, so experience of AI shapes expectations. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
Is AI changing jobs in UK businesses?
UK evidence so far shows AI reshaping hiring plans more than headcount.
63% of UK businesses using AI to improve operations report no change in headcount, while 6% report a decrease. Operational uses of AI are associated with slightly more headcount reductions than other uses. (ONS, July 2026)
53% of UK businesses using AI image processing report impacts on administrative or clerical roles. Administrative roles are among the most exposed across several AI technology types. (ONS, July 2026)
95% of SMEs using AI say it has had no impact on workforce size over the past year. Most firms in the same survey also report that job roles are unchanged. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
14% of SMEs investing in AI training expect headcount reductions over the next 12 months. Firms putting more into AI training are more likely to anticipate restructuring. (BCC and University of Essex, March 2026)
68% of UK mid-tier accountancy firms expect AI to reduce demand for some early-career accountants, but 83% say that will not mean fewer roles. Based on 35 firms surveyed in February and March 2026. (ICAEW, May 2026)
Only 5% of UK accounting practices expect AI to reduce headcount within the next year. Practices plan to redirect saved hours to advisory work, according to May 2026 fieldwork. (Xero, August 2026)
Around 10% of UK businesses are automating or replacing roles with AI technologies. The share varies little between size bands. (ONS, July 2026)
48% of AI-using UK businesses expect more of their staff to be using AI within two years. Almost none expect fewer staff to use it, based on 2025 fieldwork. (DSIT, February 2026)
UK mid-tier accountancy firms expect a 40% fall in graduate recruitment, offset by a 49% rise in school leavers. Firms describe the change as part of a redefined profession, in responses gathered in early 2026. (ICAEW, May 2026)
How does UK AI adoption compare with other countries?
The UK leads most of Europe on worker AI use but trails the United States, and national comparisons depend on how each survey measures adoption.
17% of small EU enterprises used AI in 2025, against 30.36% of medium and 55.03% of large enterprises. The EU survey covers member states only and does not include the UK. (Eurostat, December 2025)
Denmark had the highest share of enterprises using AI in the EU in 2025 (42.03%) and Romania the lowest (5.21%). The Nordic countries lead enterprise AI adoption across the EU. (Eurostat, December 2025)
24.82% of EU real estate enterprises and 10.79% of construction enterprises used AI in 2025. Construction has the lowest adoption of any EU sector, mirroring the UK pattern. (Eurostat, December 2025)
70.89% of EU enterprises that considered AI but did not use it cited a lack of relevant expertise. Expertise is the leading barrier in the EU as well as the UK. (Eurostat, December 2025)
35% of UK construction and property respondents have no plans to invest in AI, still the highest of any region. The UK share has fallen year on year, from the RICS Q1 2026 surveys. (RICS, August 2026)
43% of US workers used AI for their job in early 2026, against 32% of European workers. From worker surveys run in January and February 2026. (NBER, March 2026)
The share of businesses with 10 or more employees using AI across OECD countries rose from 5.6% in 2020 to 14% in 2024. The data runs to 2024, so it predates the most recent UK and EU releases. (OECD, December 2025)
AI saved UK workers 1.8% of their work hours, the most of any European country surveyed but below the US. The same study puts US time savings above every European country surveyed. (NBER, March 2026)
What do UK owner-operators say about admin and AI?
These figures come from HeyBRB's own survey of UK small business owner-operators, published in the UK Admin Drain Report 2026. HeyBRB surveyed 167 owner-operators online in March 2026. Respondents chose to take part, and the margin of error is about 7.6 percentage points.
UK small business owners lose an average of 8 hours a week to admin, or 384 hours a year. That is equivalent to around ten full working weeks each year. (HeyBRB, March 2026)
83% of UK small business owners have never calculated what admin costs their business. Most owners feel the burden without measuring it. (HeyBRB, March 2026)
47% of UK small business owners have never tried to automate any admin. The report pairs this with high reported use of AI tools in the same sample. (HeyBRB, March 2026)
75% of UK small business owners have tried AI tools, but only half say it saved them real time. Respondents most often blamed output that was too generic for their business. (HeyBRB, March 2026)
46% of UK small business owners do their admin in the evenings, after business hours. For many owners in the survey, admin spills outside business hours. (HeyBRB, March 2026)
Methodology
How sources were selected. Every figure comes from the organisation that produced it: UK government statistics and commissioned research (ONS, DSIT), international statistical bodies (Eurostat, OECD), academic working papers (NBER, University of Essex with the British Chambers of Commerce), professional bodies (ICAEW, RICS), audience measurement (IAB UK with UKOM Ipsos iris), and vendor or company surveys that publish their sample size and fieldwork dates (Xero, HeyBRB).
What was excluded. Statistics roundups, press articles summarising studies, paywalled market-size estimates and AI-generated answers. We also left out any figure we could not see on the publisher's own page, any page with no publication date, and older figures where newer primary data answered the same question. No primary source publishes the size of the UK AI consultancy market, so no such figure appears.
How figures were verified. On 14 September 2026 we fetched every source page and PDF and matched each figure word for word against the published text. Entries flag fieldwork that took place well before publication.
Disclosure. HeyBRB is an AI automation consultancy. The final section uses HeyBRB's own survey, with its sample and limits stated above.
Refresh cadence. We re-verify every figure each quarter and replace it when the publisher releases newer data. Next review: 14 December 2026.
Next scheduled review: 14 December 2026
Cite this page
HeyBRB (2026). UK AI Statistics for 2026. https://heybrb.ai/research/uk-ai-statistics. Figures verified 14 September 2026.
Writers and researchers can cite any figure here with its original source attached. For help working out where AI fits in your own business, start with the AI Assessment.