UK’s ‘AI divide’ puts economic growth at risk, warns Microsoft
A growing divide between UK leaders who do and don’t leverage AI could threaten the country’s economic potential, and the efficiency of its public services.
According to a report from Microsoft, businesses and public sector organisations with clear AI strategies are significantly outperforming those without, highlighting an urgent need for broader adoption of AI driven technologies.
The tech giant warns that only half of UK organisations have developed AI strategies and built the necessary skills to implement them.
Meanwhile, the other half remains stuck in neutral, lacking formal AI plans and struggling to translate AI ambitions into action.
This ‘AI divide’ is becoming increasingly evident, with 57 per cent of business leaders reporting a widening gap in efficiency and productivity between employees who use AI, and those who do not.
Further, more than a third of leaders said frequent AI users are more likely to be recognised or promoted within their organisations.
Agentic AI demand
The study also highlights an alarming trend of rising workforce pressures, with 52 per cent of UK employees reporting being expected to do more than a single person’s job.
As a result, there is a growing demand for agentic AI to automate tasks, manage workflows and even operate autonomously with minimal human input.
Microsoft found that nearly three-quarters of leaders expect AI agents to be fully integrated into their organisations soon.
“The scope and scale of the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan is an important foundation to drive growth, create jobs, and improve living standards for all”, said Darren Hardman, chief executive of Microsoft UK.
“Agentic AI can play a key role in removing digital drudgery, giving workers the opportunity to spend more time on creative and value adding skills. At Microsoft, we’re helping to build an AI economy, investing in digital skills, and tackling the AI divide – prerequisites for driving AI-fuelled economic growth in the UK”.
Agentic AI encompasses a range of technologies, from basic chat bots that retrieve information, to advanced AI-powered assistants like Microsoft’s Copilot, which automate complex workflows and fully autonomous systems capable of learning, planning and making decisions with minimal human oversight.
Dr Chris Brauer from Goldsmiths, University of London, emphasised the transformative potential of agentic AI.
He said: “Every organisation’s AI journey is unique. Agentic AI has the potential to revolutionise operations, increase resilience, and free employees from many routine tasks – if organisations are proactive. These are steps that high, medium, and low performing organisations can take today”.
Tech firms are racing to meet this demand.
PagerDuty, a leader in digital operations, recently announced new agentic AI capabilities within its cloud platform.
Its AI-driven tools are designed to reduce operational costs, mitigate risks, and free up employees to focus on higher-value work.