TL;DR:

• New AWS research finds nearly two-thirds (64%) of UK organisations now use AI — up from 52% last year — but only 24% have reached advanced use stages where AI forms part of core processes and decision-making.
• That advanced-stage figure is up just one percentage point year-on-year, and AWS estimates the UK could unlock £35 billion in economic growth by 2030 if organisations move past basic task-automation use cases.
• The research confirms a consistent picture from the same week’s FT-Focaldata adoption divide and Sunak BBC interview: UK AI is being adopted widely but shallowly, with 49% of firms citing skills gaps as the main barrier to scaling.

New AWS research published at AWS Summit London and reported by ITPro finds that UK organisations are failing to move past basic AI use cases. AI adoption continues to grow — 64% of UK organisations now use AI, up from 52% a year ago — and 68% report measurable productivity gains. But only 24% have reached advanced maturity, where AI forms part of core processes and decision-making, a figure up just one percentage point on the prior year.

The productivity gap

AWS executive in residence Phil Le-Brun told ITPro the slow advancement reflects “a lack of imagination in organizations” as much as a technology constraint. Organisations designed for efficiency over 150 years find it genuinely difficult to fundamentally rethink how they operate, Le-Brun argued. The research aligns with a parallel Accenture study AWS cited showing that only a quarter of employees say a major process in their team has been restructured around AI.

The efficiency delta is material. AWS found that firms moving from basic to advanced AI use report average efficiency gains of 68% compared with 40% for those stuck on basic use cases. Scaled across the UK economy, AWS estimates £35 billion in additional GDP by 2030 — roughly the economic output of Manchester — if more organisations make the transition. Le-Brun’s dry framing: “By the end of the century, we’ll be in a good position.”

The skills gap is widening

A bigger concern is the skills shortage, cited by 49% of UK respondents as the main barrier — up from 46% last year. Only 17% of UK organisations say they have a “strong” AI skillset today, while 84% expect AI skills to grow in importance over the next five years. Average salary premiums for top AI talent have reached 41%, the highest AWS has measured.

How this fits the UK picture this week

The AWS data sits inside a specific weekly context. The FT-Focaldata poll published today found 60% of top UK and US earners use AI daily versus 16% of lowest earners — consistent with a pattern where AI is concentrated in already-skilled, already-well-paid roles. Rishi Sunak’s BBC interview this morning described CEOs privately telling him “flat is the new up” — growth without headcount increases, specifically in law, accountancy and creative industries. Together, the three datapoints describe a UK enterprise AI market adopting widely but not deepening — leaving both economic value and political stability exposed.

Looking forward

UK businesses are adopting AI faster than the European average (10 percentage points ahead, a business every 40 seconds versus 60 seconds continent-wide). That is a real advantage, but one that narrows quickly if the 24% advanced-maturity figure remains static. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s AI skills commitment, the Sovereign AI Unit’s industrial policy, and the FCA Live Testing Sandbox are the three policy handles most directly relevant. Watch whether the second half of the year brings concrete UK maturity-stage data beyond AWS’s own measure — that comparability will matter when the National Cyber Action Plan, Ofgem consultation and AI supervisory expectations land.