- More British CEOs have adopted AI than other countries
- UK businesses more likely to invest in AI this year, PwC report says
- The results are even less evident among British companies
British leaders are more prepared to use artificial intelligence than their global counterparts, new research claims, with 93% of UK CEOs saying their companies have adopted AI compared to 83% globally .
Sentiment towards AI technology has progressed significantly in recent years, with just 42% of UK CEOs adopting AI in January 2024, more than doubling in the space of 12 months, findings show from PwC.
Leaders are also increasingly seeing the positive effects of AI in their companies, with more than half (56%) of CEOs globally noticing an improvement in employee efficiency.
British CEOs agree on AI
However, the recent increase in the adoption of artificial intelligence tools among British companies could be the cause of the delay in results. Fewer British CEOs have seen improvements in employee efficiency (53%), and only 40% report better time management compared to 53% globally.
Additionally, only 14% see profitability gains from generative AI, compared to 34% globally.
Still, optimism continues and more than half (55%) plan to invest in artificial intelligence, generative AI, cloud and data analytics over the next year. In fact, Britain ranks higher than the United States (48%), France (54%) and Germany (35%).
“UK businesses have begun to move beyond the initial hype of GenAI towards the reality of making it work, but that should not detract from its huge unrealized potential. “That more than a third of business leaders expect to see some financial gain from GenAI over the next year is very significant and indeed encouraging,” said Marco Amitrano, senior partner at PwC UK.
Still, some obstacles remain, such as the skills gap which almost half (47%) of UK CEOs see as a major challenge.
PwC UK CTO Umang Paw added that UK CEOs should continue to develop AI knowledge and competencies to harness the untapped potential of AI in their businesses.
