- Four in five plan to increase their investments in AI despite ongoing challenges
- Skills shortages and outdated apprenticeship systems hinder growth
- AI also adds to jobs, instead of defining them, which reduces its benefits.
British businesses are still obsessed with artificial intelligence and investing in it without tackling the underlying challenges, according to new research from Accenture.
More than four in five (83%) respondents said they plan to increase their investments in AI tools, seeing them as an important part of future-proofing rather than a workforce replacement tool.
In fact, 71% of executives surveyed expect to increase hiring in response to impending changes, suggesting that AI plays a larger role in business growth than downsizing.
These are the challenges associated with adopting AI
Even as companies continue to invest in artificial intelligence, Accenture has found that they are struggling to overcome some key barriers to deployment, and they’re the same ones we hear about time and time again.
About a quarter (27%) cite skills shortages and outdated training systems as obstacles, and so far only 43% say they plan to upskill their employees this year. Employees are also much less likely to believe they have the proper basic training to use AI than bosses.
But it’s not just the skills preparation that is criticized: the deployment process itself sees followers split into two groups: those who embrace it fully and those who invest blindly without a carefully considered plan. Only 9% of companies are rethinking roles or responsibilities, indicating that AI is simply adding to existing jobs rather than being used to its full transformative potential.
“The organizations that lead in 2026 will be those that combine technology investment with clarity on skills, roles and opportunities, and that treat workforce transformation as a strategic priority, not an afterthought,” summarized Matt Prebble, CEO of UK&I.
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