An AI divide risks growth for many organisations, new Microsoft research claims 

An opportunity to boost the UK’s economy and improve its public services in ‘the coming age of agentic AI’ could be at risk if too many organisations remain ‘stuck in neutral’ on artificial intelligence, ?according to?new research?commissioned by Microsoft. The study, led by Dr Chris Brauer at Goldsmiths, University of London, claims that the highest performing businesses and most productive public sector organisations have a clear strategy in place and are preparing for the next wave of the technology – which the report refers to as agentic AI.?1

However, the report describes an ‘AI divide’ emerging within the UK economy. Whilst half of organisations have a clear AI strategy and the skills to implement it, a similar proportion do not, which is a lost opportunity to boost economic growth and improve public services across the UK.

The research, which is based on surveys with?1,480 UK senior leaders across public and private sectors, as well as 1,440 UK employees, found that more than half (54 percent) of respondents report that their organisation still lacks any formal AI strategy. Just 45 percent say their organisation understands the AI skills their workforce needs to be successful today, and half (50 percent) describe a gap between AI ambition and action within their organisations.

The so-called AI divide extends to the UK workforce, with more than half (57 percent) of leaders reporting a widening gap in efficiency and productivity between workers who use AI and those that do not. More than a third (36 percent) of leaders go further to say that frequent AI users are more likely to be recognised or promoted in their organisation today.

More than half of UK employees who responded to the survey (52 percent) and leaders (60 percent) say they are currently expected to do more work than a single person’s job. Just over a third (36 percent) of leaders and 25 percent of employees believe that their workloads are the equivalent to doing at least two people’s jobs at the same time.

Despite this technology being relatively new, almost three quarters (72 percent) of leaders expect AI agents to be fully integrated across their operations, delivering significant value, with 21 percent anticipating this to be within the next 12 months, and 39 percent within two years.