UK firms are grappling with mismatched AI productivity gains – employees are more efficient, but business performance is stagnating

Only one-in-ten UK organizations have successfully deployed or scaled AI in core operations, according to new research from Accenture, with the consultancy urging IT leaders to shake up strategies to boost adoption.

Despite widespread adoption of the technology, Accenture’s Generating Impact report highlighted a “widening gap” between the basic use of the technology and its broader impact on organizational change.

Nearly one-in-five (18%) UK workers now use generative AI tools on a daily basis, the study found, marking a steep increase compared to 2024 levels.

Notably, Accenture found workers are reporting benefits from the technology, including higher-quality output levels and faster project delivery timelines.

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Yet on a business-wide scale, the benefits of AI haven’t yet materialized. Only around one-quarter of employees said that a major process in their team has been "restructured around AI”.

Nearly half (46%) of executives also noted that removing AI entirely would have “no material effect on their operations at all”.

Unlocking AI productivity gains

Two key factors are at play here, according to Accenture. First and foremost, organizational change processes are “lagging behind” and AI strategies often fail to overhaul underlying IT infrastructure or working practices.

“Employees are adopting AI at the level of individual tasks, but organizations have not yet redesigned the systems and workflows around them,” the study notes.

“Only around a quarter of employees say a major process in their team has been redesigned around AI in the past year. Without that redesign, productivity gains remain localized and fail to translate into enterprise performance.”

Another issue lies in “where organizations are looking for value”, according to Accenture. Many enterprises have focused heavily on productivity as a key metric when measuring success, for example.

Similarly, executives often see cost reductions as the “greatest future benefit” of the technology rather than revenue growth. It’s here where Accenture identified a gap in expectations between workers on the ground and those in the C-suite.

“This stands in contrast to workers, who most commonly report using AI to enhance the quality of their output,” the report states.

Accenture’s findings track with recent research from KPMG, which warned that many executives view returns on investment (ROI) in purely financial terms.

Profitability, for example, was cited by 64% of respondents as a key metric when measuring ROI – underlining the demand for immediate returns and a failure to consider other factors, such as employee efficiency or quality of work.

The consultancy noted that a “shift in mindset” is needed before organizations can fully capitalize on the technology.

Similar research from Forrester this year highlighted a perception gap in terms of AI's potential benefits. The firm noted that few organizations have translated early AI innovation into meaningful business impact".

High stakes with agentic AI

With the advent of agentic AI, Accenture said enterprises have great opportunities to deliver real-world impact - providing they address broader integration challenges.

The study found nearly 82% of UK working hours could be enhanced by agents, for example.

These gains aren’t yet visible in productivity data, however, reflecting patterns seen in previous technology wave where “capability advanced faster than organizational changes”

Indeed, more than half (58%) of executives said their organisation isn’t ready to integrate agents within core enterprise systems, largely due to the complexity of legacy IT estates.

Skills are also a key hurdle for enterprises with agentic AI, with 7% of executives stating their workforce is fully prepared for agents. The appetite for reskilling and upskilling is there, though.

More than half (54%) said they have a desire to upskill in response to AI advances.

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