Prototype. Figures as of October 2026.
The UK can see who uses AI. It can’t yet see what AI changes.
The monitor follows 26 indicators, from who could use AI to what it changes across the economy. Each block below is one indicator. 13 have a solid UK figure, 4 have a partial one, and the rest have none.
Five areas, from access to impact
The monitor sorts every indicator into five areas. Each asks a different question, and each is harder to answer than the one before. Taken in order, they show where the evidence runs out.
Four readings
What the best current data says, from adoption to the only outcome figure the UK publishes.
What the data shows
The UK measures adoption well. These charts draw on its strongest sources.
Business use has tripled since 2023
Share of UK businesses using at least one AI technology.
Bigger firms and tech firms lead
Share using AI by firm size, and in the industry that uses it most, September 2026.
Three answers to “how many people use AI?”
Each source asks a different question of a different population. The spread is a finding in itself.
A steep age gap
Adults using AI for work or education, Great Britain, June 2026.
More use, less confidence
Adults in Great Britain who expect AI to benefit them, and who think it carries more risks than benefits.
All 26 indicators
Grouped into five areas that run from access to impact. Each shows the latest UK figure, where one exists, and its source. How the areas and shading work.
What it would take to see impact
The UK already runs the surveys. The gaps are in linking data, measuring outcomes and seeing inside organisations.
Link adoption to firm performance
ONS already knows which firms say they use AI. Linking those answers to firm-level productivity, turnover and employment would show whether adopters pull ahead. It is the biggest missing piece.
Report results where government uses AI
Move transparency records from describing tools to reporting what changed: processing times, error rates and service quality, before and after.
See inside organisations
A voluntary panel of organisations sharing anonymised data on licences, active users, depth of use and tasks. It is the only route to AI embedded in everyday software.
Count harms as well as benefits
A shared way for regulators to record AI-related complaints, incidents and findings, so harms can be tracked alongside adoption.