AI adoption leads to job growth for a fifth of UK businesses, report finds | City & Business | Finance
Businesses report cutting costs and boosting revenue with AI (Image: Getty Images)
AI is boosting businesses but older firms and those outside London risk falling behind. UK businesses using AI are seeing cost savings and increased revenue – but older companies, and businesses outside London risk falling behind.
A report which features data from 5.3 million businesses worldwide showed 70% of UK businesses now use AI in some capacity. In doing so, 77% reported increased productivity, while 43% claim it has increased their revenue.
More than one in four (27%) also claim the use of AI has made their workdays shorter and 28% have seen costs decrease. But some businesses risk falling behind.
Intuit’s 2026 AI Impact Report combined administrative data from more than 5.3 million businesses using QuickBooks, alongside surveys of more than 34,000 businesses across the UK, Canada, US and Australia.
The data suggests a gap in how businesses across the UK are adopting AI.
Some companies risk falling behind (Image: Getty Images)
The report shows London businesses 13.2 percentage points more likely to use AI extensively across their business.
But South East businesses are 13.8 percentage points more likely than the national average to say they never use AI, while South West firms are 14.9 percentage points less likely to report extensive AI use.
Businesses in Wales are also more likely to report using AI in a limited or testing capacity rather than at scale.
Andrew Price, CEO and co-founder of Synapx, said: “AI allows a small team to operate with the maturity, governance, and delivery capability of a much larger organisation.
“It accelerates business maturity, and maturity is what unlocks sustainable growth, not just short-term efficiency.
“We’re seeing a growing divide between businesses that are experimenting with AI and those that are embedding it into day-to-day operations.”
Despite geographical differences, the study revealed many who are adopting AI are seeing rewards. A fifth reported they are actually making more hires due to AI.
Ciarán Quilty, from Intuit, said: “UK businesses aren’t short of tools, they’re short of time and clarity.
“We’re seeing a shift from reactive software to proactive AI embedded into businesses systems that actually do work on behalf of the customer.
“By embedding AI directly into key workflows, businesses spend less time managing admin and more time making confident decisions about how they grow.
“Usage of this kind is growing and ambitious businesses are beginning to reap the benefits.”
