UK business leaders embrace AI but workers remain sceptical about its future, Microsoft survey claims

The findings, published to coincide with Microsoft’s Frontier Tour in London, highlight a significant disconnect between employers’ enthusiasm for the adoption of artificial intelligence and workers’ concerns about the longer-term consequences of the technology. Nine in ten business leaders say their organisations have a clear AI strategy, while 84 percent of those working in organisations already adopting AI report that the technology has brought about moderate or significant changes to working practices. More than a third (36 percent) say those changes have been significant.

However, while 90 percent of business leaders expect AI to have a positive impact on British society over the next five years, only 49 percent of employees share that optimism. The research suggests that workers’ attitudes are increasingly complex, with many recognising its benefits in their day-to-day roles while remaining concerned about its implications for employment.

Among employees already using AI at work, 71 percent say the technology has had a positive impact on their work or career, while 69 percent believe it has improved the quality of their work. Nevertheless, 35 percent are concerned that AI has reduced their own job security, and 57 percent fear it will diminish employment opportunities for young people and those entering the workforce.

The findings point to a growing challenge for employers seeking to integrate AI into their operations: ensuring that productivity gains and changes to working practices are accompanied by greater employee confidence in the technology and its implications for career development.

Despite their contrasting outlooks, employees and business leaders agree that more government intervention is needed to ensure Britain benefits from AI adoption. Nearly six in ten employees (58 percent) and 62 percent of senior business decision-makers believe the government should be doing more to support the country’s AI ambitions. However, their priorities differ. Employees are most likely to call for stronger regulation and safeguards around AI, cited by 36 percent, while business leaders place greater emphasis on skills development and training, identified by 35 percent, and additional support for businesses adopting the technology, cited by 30 percent.

Skills and training nevertheless feature among the three leading priorities for both groups, with 23 percent of employees identifying the issue as an area requiring government attention.

Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK and Ireland, said that achieving the government’s ambition of making Britain the fastest adopter of AI in the G7 would require greater cooperation between business and policymakers. “We should absolutely aspire to the Government’s ambition for the UK to achieve the fastest AI adoption in the G7. But achieving that ambition is a shared responsibility,” he said. “Government and industry must work together to respond to British business leaders’ calls for greater action on skills, build trust in the technology and ensure its benefits reach everyone.” He warned that a failure to address concerns about trust, safety and the wider social impact of AI could undermine Britain’s ambitions.

The survey was published alongside Microsoft’s UK AI Diffusion Report, which estimates that generative AI adoption in Britain increased from 36.6 percent in the first half of 2025 to 43.7 percent in the second quarter of 2026.

According to the report, the UK ranks eighth globally and second among G7 countries for generative AI adoption, although substantial regional differences remain. Estimated AI usage reaches 57.4 percent in the West of England Combined Authority area, compared with 34.1 percent in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, suggesting that the benefits of adoption are not being distributed evenly across the country.

Microsoft argues that the next phase of AI adoption will depend on organisations moving beyond individual productivity tools towards more fundamental changes in business processes, including the integration of AI agents into everyday workflows. The company is promoting what it calls ‘Frontier Firms’, organisations in which employees work alongside AI agents to redesign processes and improve performance.

Microsoft has committed to investing $30 billion (£23 billion) in the UK between 2025 and 2028, including $15 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure, and says its initiatives have already provided digital and AI skills training to more than 2.5 million people across the country.

However, the research indicates that technological investment and rising adoption rates alone may not be enough to secure public confidence. For employers, the findings underline the importance of addressing workforce concerns about job security, skills and career progression as AI becomes more deeply embedded in organisational operations, particularly if the technology is to deliver lasting benefits for businesses and employees alike.