UK Companies’ Average Annual AI Spending Rises 27%

According to an SAP report, the average annual amount spent on artificial intelligence by a company in the United Kingdom has reached £20.6 million this year (approximately 46.49 million manats). Last year, this amount was £16.2 million (approximately 36.56 million manats). Thus, spending has increased by 27%. Spending is expected to rise by another 45% by 2028. In that case, the amount could approach £30 million (approximately 67.7 million manats).

As companies allocate more money, the return on their investments is also projected to increase. This figure was 17% last year and could reach 22% this year. The expectation for 2028 is 39%. However, only 11% of businesses manage their AI investments under a unified strategy. About 2 in every 5 companies make decisions at the individual department level rather than across the entire company.

AI systems that perform tasks more independently are also being widely tested. Approximately 70% of UK companies are conducting pilot projects involving these systems. Users believe they could increase financial returns over the next 2 years. The expected increase is 4.7-fold. However, the rapid deployment of these systems is outpacing the development of oversight mechanisms and rules.

Of the companies using AI agents, 49% are concerned that the systems are being deployed faster than oversight mechanisms. Only 9% consider their governance capabilities and specialist training fully adequate. Some 61% of companies are now developing rules. The others say their capabilities in this area are limited or that they are not prepared at all.

Companies identify the state of their data as the main problem preventing them from making full use of AI. Among survey respondents, 71% consider poor-quality data an obstacle, while 70% cite incomplete data. The share of those who view disconnected systems as a problem is 65%. Another 62% say access to real-time data is poor. Therefore, 67% of companies believe that consolidating data into a unified system would be the most important step toward AI readiness.