UK companies are accelerating investment in Artificial Intelligence but are struggling to equip their workforces with the skills and guardrails needed to use the technology responsibly. Six in ten UK businesses (60%) say their employees have not completed comprehensive Artificial Intelligence training, even as Artificial Intelligence investment is set to rise by 40% over the next two years. The research, set out in The Value of Artificial Intelligence in the UK: Growth, People & Data report from SAP and Oxford Economics, shows that the average UK business is already generating around £2.7 million in returns from Artificial Intelligence, yet many employees still lack the confidence and guidance required to apply it safely in daily operations.
The shortfall in training is closely linked to the spread of shadow Artificial Intelligence, as 68% of organisations report that staff use unapproved Artificial Intelligence tools at least occasionally in their day-to-day work. Seven-in-ten businesses have begun reskilling or upskilling staff to help close the emerging Artificial Intelligence skills gap, but these efforts are lagging behind current adoption. Industry voices argue that shadow usage reflects enthusiasm rather than resistance, and that organisations should channel this energy by providing access to approved tools, clear guardrails and role-specific training. Executives stress that when staff understand how to use Artificial Intelligence responsibly, it becomes a driver of innovation, productivity and confidence instead of an unmanaged risk.
Business leaders also highlight the importance of integrating Artificial Intelligence into broader corporate strategy, rather than treating it as a series of isolated experiments. Artificial Intelligence is moving from a testing phase to a core engine for growth, competitiveness and resilience, yet just 7% of organisations have adopted an enterprise-wide Artificial Intelligence strategy that aligns data, people, governance and partners. Case studies such as a generative Artificial Intelligence tool that triages hundreds of customer emails each day illustrate how approved, well-governed systems can save significant time while protecting data security. The study is based on an online quantitative survey conducted by Oxford Economics between July and August 2025, drawing on a representative sample of 1,600 senior executives across eight global markets, including 200 respondents from the United Kingdom, evenly split between midmarket organisations with 500 – 1,500 employees and enterprises with 1,500 or more employees.
