UK companies risk falling behind foreign rivals unless they use more AI, Microsoft report reveals

Revealing a disconnect in UK workplaces, 83% of leaders claim not to have been asked by staff about AI. The absence of transparency and open communication is fuelling fears about job security among workers while, at the same time, preventing them from understanding exactly how AI can help augment their roles. More than a third of staff (36%) would use the time they saved by using AI to learn new skills at work. Lord Clement-Jones, Chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on AI, said: "There is absolutely no excuse for anybody in business, at whatever age, for not reinventing themselves in terms of really understanding how AI works." The rate of AI adoption also varies depending on sector, with financial services leading the way. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the nation's finance leaders say their organisation is using AI – a 7% increase from 2018 and considerably higher than the national average of 56%. Half of leaders in the field want their organisation to be a leader in AI. More than half (51%) of manufacturing leaders who were interviewed for Microsoft's report said they were using AI, falling to 46% for healthcare and 43% for retail. Microsoft has launched a number of initiatives to boost the level of digital skills in the UK, including a free online AI Business School enabling executives to learn about strategies and use of AI at their own pace in their own time.