Major blockers to AI adoption in British business
New research from the Institute of Directors reveals business leader enthusiasm for productivity gains from AI, tempered by board-level expertise gaps, reliability concerns and security risks.
Of the half (49%) of UK business leaders whose organisations use AI across any of their functions and processes, 78% cite increased productivity and operational and administrative efficiencies as the most significant benefits within their organisations, followed by better data insights and analytics (56%), and enhanced or augmented workforce capabilities (47%).
However, persistent barriers are limiting adoption and scaling amongst business leaders. Half of respondents cite limited expertise or understanding of models and tools at management and board level (51%), as well as lack of trust in AI outcomes (50%), as among their biggest concerns. Security risks, such as cyber, data protection and privacy (40%), as well as employee skills and training gaps (40%) and safety and ethical risks (32%), are also significant barriers for business leaders.
Dr Erin Young, Head of Innovation and Technology Policy at the Institute of Directors, said:
“While UK business leaders in early AI adoption are enthusiastic about greater productivity and efficiencies, they face a complex set of barriers to top-down implementation and governance – from skills and expertise gaps at board level, to a lack of trust and fundamental concerns about reliability, security and business value across AI capabilities, tools and applications.”
“Given a focus on addressing private sector user-adoption barriers in the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, it is important that these concerns are addressed strategically for businesses of all sizes across sectors in the Industrial Strategy.”
Full results
605 responses from across the UK, conducted between 14-27 March 2025. 13% ran large businesses (250+ people), 18% medium (50-249), 25% small (10-49 people), 31% micro (2-9 people) and 13% sole trader and self-employed business entities (0-1 people).
1. Do you personally use AI to help with your work? When answering, please consider AI across capabilities including generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini), predictive (e.g. Altair, Datarails) and agentic (e.g. Manus).
2. Does your primary organisation use AI across any of its functions or processes? Again, when answering, please consider AI across capabilities including generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini), predictive (e.g. Altair, Datarails) and agentic (e.g. Manus).
3. [Asked of those that answered ‘Yes’ to question 2 (299 responses)] What are the most significant benefits of AI adoption for your organisation? Please select all that apply.
4. [Asked of those that answered ‘No’ or ‘Don’t know’ to question 2 (306 responses)] What do you see as the most significant benefits of AI adoption for your organisation? Please select all that apply.
5. What are your biggest barriers or concerns regarding AI adoption in your organisation? Please select all that apply.
