78% of UK businesses use AI, few see financial gains

For many UK companies, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from a future trend to a daily tool. Businesses are trying to adopt AI to automate tasks, improve decision-making, and gain a competitive edge; some companies are even laying off their employees, replacing their positions with AI. However, the results so far are mixed.

A recent study from Studio Graphene, a digital product design company, shows that 78% of UK businesses now use AI in some capacity. Mid-sized organisations, with 100–249 employees, lead adoption at 85%, while 14% plan to explore AI in 2026. Only 8% of companies aren’t using AI and have no immediate plans to start.

Despite the high adoption, less than a third of businesses (31%) report seeing a positive return on investment (ROI) from AI projects. Nearly one in five (18%) said their AI tools haven’t delivered the expected benefits, while 16% said it’s too early to judge.

Fewer than half (41%) of AI users have a clear idea of what success looks like when implementing AI solutions.

Amongst mid-sized businesses, the top AI-adopting businesses are only able to define success at a rate of 46%. Studio Graphene Director and Founder Ritam Gandhi commented: “Many organisations are at a critical point in their AI journey. Adoption has skyrocketed, but our research shows just how much planning is still required for AI projects to succeed.”

According to Gandhi, many businesses are launching AI without clear goals, workflows, or success criteria. This can lead to frustration at a board level, which in turn can limit the true potential of AI.