Having AI is not the same as using it

I went back through the ONS numbers on AI in UK businesses this weekend.

The figure everyone quotes is the big one. Among firms with 10 or more staff, AI use went from about 12% in late 2023 to about 35% in June 2026.

The more useful bits are underneath.

1. Small firms are not far behind. 28% of businesses with 0 to 9 people use at least one AI tool. For 250 and up it is 49%.
2. Construction is the lowest sector at 13%. Information and communication is 58%.
3. Around half of businesses say AI has made no difference to their headcount.
4. Of the larger firms asked, 41% said they had no barriers at all. Where there was one, lack of expertise came up more than cost.

So the tools are in. What I rarely see is the work changing around them.

Someone has a ChatGPT login. Quotes still go out the same way. Follow-ups still depend on who remembers. The same people still do the admin on a Friday afternoon.

That is not adoption. That is a subscription.

If you run a small business, pick one boring job. The quote that takes an hour. The weekly report nobody reads properly. Fix that one end to end, then move to the next.

The ONS put the full release out in July, worth ten minutes: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/articles/artificialintelligenceinukbusinesses/2023to2026