UK businesses are emerging as global outliers in their enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, with new research showing confidence and adoption both rising sharply amid lag on formal governance and risk transfer.
Gallagher has released the findings of its third annual 2026 Adoption and Risk Survey: AI in Action based on responses from 200 UK-based business leaders across sectors.
According to the research, half of UK businesses surveyed have implemented AI in some form. Within that, 49% have introduced AI into parts of their operations - up 39% in 2024 and just 20% in 2023 -- while 12% said AI is now fully operationalised.
Adoption is spread across a wide range of functions. Just over half of UK businesses (52%) use AI to power chatbots and personal assistants, with similar uptake in research and analytics (49%) and customer service (48%). AI is also being used in IT operations management (45%) and fraud detection (44%).
Early results are positive. Almost nine in 10 UK businesses (86%) report a positive impact on revenue from AI. The majority also report gains in employee trust and engagement (84%) and productivity (83%), according to the study.
Gallagher’s data also indicates that UK leaders are among the most optimistic internationally on AI’s potential. Over nine in 10 (93%) said they see AI as a positive opportunity for their organisation, up from 83% in both 2024 and 2023. In parallel, 83% believe AI will increase revenue over time.
Meanwhile, some 62% of UK businesses are actively tracking the return on investment from AI, with a further 35% planning to do so. On average, leaders expect it to take around 27 months for AI investments to deliver clearly measurable financial returns.
That optimism sits against a more cautious global risk narrative. Allianz’s latest Risk Barometer showed artificial intelligence has surged from 10th to second place in the global ranking of business threats for 2026, making “the biggest jump in this year's ranking” and entering the top three risks for firms of all sizes.
Despite the upbeat outlook, UK leaders are alive to the downsides. More than half express concern about a loss of commonsense from over‑reliance on AI tools and about heightened exposure to cyberattacks and fraud (56% and 55%, respectively). Only 43% cited concerns around the impact on employee engagement, below the global average of 50%.
For insurers, the cyber dimension is particularly important. UK government data showed 204 nationally significant cyber incidents in the year to August 2025 – a 129% increase on the previous year. Yet adoption of standalone cyber insurance remains limited, with estimates suggesting between a third and half of UK organisations still lack appropriate cyber protection.
As AI is embedded into decision-making, specialist markets are warning of new exposure pathways. Commentators have highlighted that businesses may already be “exposing themselves to liability by relying on AI in everyday decision-making,” particularly where tools are prone to hallucinations. Where AI‑generated outputs are used in advice without adequate human oversight, underwriters note, this could be viewed as negligent and give rise to professional liability claims.
Gallagher’s survey suggests many UK organisations are progressing faster on technical risk measures than on formal AI governance.
Overall, 60% of UK business leaders said they have assessed and mitigated AI‑related security vulnerabilities, including through cybersecurity investments. A majority (57%) have communicated their AI strategy to the workforce.
More structured measures are less common. Only 39% have developed incident response plans specific to AI‑related events, and less than half (42%) have carried out ethical impact assessments to evaluate potential societal, legal or reputational harm.
These findings echo broader research that AI adoption is, in many cases, moving faster than governance and workforce readiness can keep up, which is one reason AI has entered the top tier of global business risks. Poor AI governance and weak internal controls raised concerns about compliance‑driven claims, regulatory fines and disputes around data governance and privacy.
Steve Rhee, global chief digital officer at Gallagher, said that UK business leaders are "overwhelmingly positive" about the benefits of AI and that intentions are clear that they intend to adopt AI into their workforce, already setting out an AI strategy.
“However, despite the confidence, many UK organisations remain in planning mode when it comes to AI governance, with formal AI policies, frameworks and incident plans still being measured. This poses significant risks – cyber, legal, societal, reputational and beyond – which leave many businesses vulnerable," Rhee said. "The optimism and ambition of UK business leaders is notable, but it is crucial that they now translate this into robust governance, oversight and risk management frameworks that help protect them from the associated risks.”
