NatWest puts UK business AI use at 44% and finds size beats region
The bank’s first AI Adoption Report says headcount explains almost five times as much of the variation in adoption as geography does, and only 6% of users have reached the stage where AI reshapes how they operate
- Of businesses using AI, 29% are at the awareness or pilot stage and 6% are at the stage where AI transforms how they operate.
- Two-thirds (67%) of firms with more than 100 employees use AI, against 36% of smaller businesses.
- Headcount explains 39% of the variation in AI adoption, turnover 24% and region 8%, on NatWest’s analysis.
- NatWest Accelerator, which says it reaches about 32,000 entrepreneurs in 18 UK locations, promises 5,000 AI learning and adoption engagements in the 12 months from September 2026.
The signal for technology leaders is that buying AI is not the hard part; getting past the pilot is. Before buying more tools, define what embedded would mean in one process, with an owner and a measure. Benchmark progress against firms of similar headcount rather than neighbors, and treat free training programs as a start on the skills gap, not an adoption plan.
“With size and scale a much stronger predictor of AI adoption, the regional growth story will be shaped less by where a business is based and more by the conditions around it – its access to skills and expertise, the confidence of its leaders and the strength of its local industrial base.”Seb Burnside, chief economist, NatWest
NatWest published its first AI Adoption Report on 25 September, putting AI use at 44% of UK businesses, with a further 41% expecting to adopt it within five years. The figures are NatWest’s own, from what it calls proprietary research among 1,400 UK small, medium-sized and mid-market businesses, plus interviews with large corporate leaders and a survey of more than 2,400 of its retail customers. The release names no fieldwork agency.
Among current users, most have not got far: close to a third are still at the awareness or pilot stage, and a small minority have reached the stage where AI changes how the organization runs. NatWest’s analysis pins most of the variation between similar firms on headcount and turnover, and very little on location.
The regional spread is narrow
NatWest issued separate regional releases the same day, and ITPro reported on 28 September that London had raced ahead of the rest of the UK. The regional numbers tell a flatter story. In London, 83% of AI users report greater efficiency and 81% stronger innovation; in the South East it is 83% and 75%; in Scotland 82% and 80%; in Wales 80% and 73%. The gap widens on money: around seven in 10 London users link AI to higher revenue and profitability, against 60% of Scottish users reporting higher revenue and 59% in Wales.
Alongside the report, NatWest Accelerator is running a 12-month program of AI learning sessions against the barriers the survey found: skills gaps, cost, uncertainty over which tools to choose, limited in-house expertise and security and governance concerns.
Sources
- NatWest Group, “AI growth gap emerging across UK businesses, as smaller firms risk missing out on AI opportunity”, press release, 25 September 2026. https://www.natwestgroup.com/news-and-insights/news-room/press-releases/2026/ai-growth-gap-emerging-across-uk-businesses-as-smaller-firms-ris.html
- ITPro, “London races ahead of the rest of the UK in effective AI adoption”, Emma Woollacott, 28 September 2026. https://www.itpro.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/london-races-ahead-of-the-rest-of-the-uk-in-effective-ai-adoption
- NatWest Group, “NatWest research finds biggest AI growth gains are still ahead for London and South East – and trust is key”, press release, 25 September 2026. https://www.natwestgroup.com/news-and-insights/news-room/press-releases/2026/natwest-research-finds-biggest-ai-growth-gains-are-still-ahead-f.html
- NatWest Group, “NatWest AI Adoption Report”, report page, September 2026. https://www.natwestgroup.com/who-we-are/about-natwest-group/tech-data-and-AI/natwest-ai-adoption-report.html
- NatWest Group, “How business adoption of AI can power UK economic growth”, report chapter, September 2026. https://www.natwestgroup.com/who-we-are/about-natwest-group/tech-data-and-AI/natwest-ai-adoption-report/how-business-adoption-of-ai-can-power-uk-economic-growth.html
- Nation.Cymru, “Four in five Welsh businesses using AI report efficiency gains”, 25 September 2026. https://nation.cymru/news/four-in-five-welsh-businesses-using-ai-report-efficiency-gains/
- Inverness Chamber of Commerce, “Eight in ten Scottish businesses see productivity boost from AI new research shows”, republished NatWest release, September 2026. https://inverness-chamber.co.uk/eight-in-ten-scottish-businesses-see-productivity-boost-from-ai-new-research-shows/
