UK businesses drastically overestimate their AI progress

UK businesses drastically overestimate their AI progress EXL’s 2026 UK Enterprise AI Study finds that while most companies think they’re ahead of the competition at AI, few actually see results at scale

75% of companies believe they are ahead of their competitors on AI, but just 12% meet the criteria to qualify as an AI Leader

93% of UK companies believe it’s important to scale AI, yet only 3% will be given incremental budget (compared of 60% U.S. companies)

77% of respondents say data is their biggest challenge in using AI effectively

Most UK businesses believe they're outperforming their competitors on AI, and 38% of companies in the UK have already moved agentic AI beyond the pilot stage. But new research from EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS), a global data and AI company, shows that just 12% are making significant company-wide progress integrating AI across core business functions and experiencing a notable return on investment (ROI) from their AI initiatives.

The third annual EXL UK Enterprise AI Study is based on a survey of 212 C-suite and other senior decision makers across the banking and finance, insurance, retail, and utilities industries. Its findings reveal a significant disconnect between how organisations assess their AI progress and where they currently stand on real-world AI integration.