TL;DR

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade published the government’s second AI adoption survey on 29 October, reporting that 32% of UK businesses used at least one AI technology, against 16% a year earlier. The depth is far less impressive than the headline. Only 14% rate AI as high or critical to operations, 64% saw no immediate effect on operating costs, and the report describes AI as augmenting existing work rather than changing business models.

The survey, commissioned by the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), rests on 3,503 telephone interviews held from January to April 2026, plus 50 follow-up conversations and seven site visits. The report’s executive summary calls the sample representative. London Daily News, reading the full report, says it covers private firms with at least five staff, leaves out sectors including education and health, and counts businesses still piloting AI. Those limits matter when the 32% is quoted as a national figure.

Broad, but shallow

Uptake is highest among larger firms (52%) and in information and communication (61%), followed by real estate and business services. Most usage is simple. Among current and prospective users, 77% cite tools based on large language models, and administration is the commonest function, at 81%.

Spending is modest too. Of the firms able to estimate it, 47% reported spending nothing in 2025, which the report attributes to free tools and features built into software they already had. Half of adopters reported higher productivity overall, though the gains are generally described as modest.

Barriers look more like capability than price. Limited skills or knowledge affected 67% of adopters and 78% of would-be adopters, while 65% of non-adopters lacked a clear business case. Regulatory uncertainty also weighs on finance, legal, transport and healthcare.

One trust finding deserves attention. While 81% of businesses apply some human oversight to AI outputs, the report notes that this has slipped slightly since 2025.

Reading it against other evidence

The results sit comfortably beside The Productivity Institute’s report, also released on 29 October, which found organisations taking up AI ahead of their ability to profit from it. Read together, in our view, they move the UK’s question from whether firms will try AI to whether they will reorganise work around it.

Looking Forward

Firms expect to do more: 65% anticipate larger AI budgets, with spending aimed mainly at off-the-shelf applications and task automation. The report itself expects progress to remain incremental.

In our view, ministers will be tempted to cite the doubling, but UK businesses would learn more from the 14%. For any firm weighing the next step, the useful comparison is not whether competitors have a licence, but whether they have changed how the work gets done.