AI use in UK hits 'tipping point' as companies scale up, Google exec says

Adoption of artificial intelligence has reached a "tipping point" in Britain, as companies move from experimentation to large-scale deployment and start seeing returns, a Google Cloud executive said on Wednesday.

Businesses and government bodies that were testing AI tools a year ago are now using them to run ‌more complex ⁠processes and ⁠improve productivity, Maureen Costello, Google Cloud's vice president for the United Kingdom, Ireland ​and Sub-Saharan Africa, told Reuters in an interview.

"Industry is on the cusp of a ​tipping point where AI adoption is accelerating quickly," Costello said. "A year ago the focus was on experimentation, but now we're seeing organisations ​put AI into production and begin to ⁠realise real ‌returns."


The shift is evident across sectors from retail ​to government, she ​said, citing examples such as AI-powered shopping tools ⁠from British e-commerce firm THG that have boosted customer ​spending, and public-sector systems helping to speed up ​planning decisions.

London, home to Europe's largest concentration of tech talent, is seeking to cement its position as a global AI hub, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer pushing to position Britain as an AI "superpower".

Costello said Britain was "leading in this space", pointing to a strong research ‌base and institutions such as Google DeepMind in London.

Broader adoption could deliver significant gains for smaller firms, she ​added, with ​Google research suggesting that ⁠AI could boost productivity by about 20%, effectively giving business owners "a day back" each week.

However, the pace of AI adoption will depend on ​investment in skills, leadership engagement and trust, particularly around security and data sovereignty.

"Technology is only half of the answer - people are the other half," Costello said. "Leaders can't sleep at the wheel, they need to get hands-on and understand how to apply this in their organisations."