# AI Adoption and Policy Series

> The AI Adoption and Policy Series carries 6 published figures read from 5 sources' own pages, from 29 to 63 percent, read 28 October 2026.

Do I need an AI policy · https://doineedanaipolicy.co.uk/datasets/ai-adoption-and-policy-series/ · computed 2026-10-29

**Range of the published figures:** 29 to 63 % (range 29 to 63 %; 6 published figures; 5 of 6 sources read publish one).

5 of the 6 named sources read in full publish a figure; 2 publish none, read 28 October 2026.

## By measure

| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| measure uk-businesses-using-ai-sep-2026 | 30 % | 30 to 30 % | 1 |
| measure uk-businesses-10plus-using-ai-sep-2026 | 38 % | 38 to 38 % | 1 |
| measure uk-businesses-using-ai-jun-2026 | 29 % | 29 to 29 % | 1 |
| measure scottish-businesses-using-ai-sep-2026 | 36.9 % | 36.9 to 36.9 % | 1 |
| measure workplaces-with-no-clear-ai-usage-plan-cipd | 58 % | 58 to 58 % | 1 |
| measure organisations-with-no-formal-ai-policy-vendor-survey | 63 % | 63 to 63 % | 1 |

## Every figure, with its source

One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read.

| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Avado: state of AI in HR 2026](https://www.avadolearning.com/resources/the-state-of-ai-in-hr-2026/) | 63 % | organisations-with-no-formal-ai-policy-vendor-survey | 2026-10-28 |
| [CIPD: employers and AI](https://www.cipd.org/uk/about/news/People-profession-vital-role-ensuring-employers-harness-AI-securely-responsibly-CIPD/) | 58 % | workplaces-with-no-clear-ai-usage-plan-cipd | 2026-10-28 |
| [ONS BICS bulletin (latest)](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/latest) | 38 % | uk-businesses-10plus-using-ai-sep-2026 | 2026-10-12 |
| [Scottish Government BICS wave 165: AI](https://www.gov.scot/publications/bics-weighted-scotland-estimates-data-to-wave-165/pages/artificial-intelligence/) | 36.9 % | scottish-businesses-using-ai-sep-2026 | 2026-10-28 |
| [ONS BICS bulletin (latest)](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/latest) | 30 % | uk-businesses-using-ai-sep-2026 | 2026-10-12 |
| [ONS BICS bulletin, 2 July 2026](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/2july2026) | 29 % | uk-businesses-using-ai-jun-2026 | 2026-10-28 |

## The sentence each figure was read from (6)

- [Avado: state of AI in HR 2026](https://www.avadolearning.com/resources/the-state-of-ai-in-hr-2026/), read 2026-10-28: "The Governance Blocker: 63% of organisations have no formal AI policy."
- [CIPD: employers and AI](https://www.cipd.org/uk/about/news/People-profession-vital-role-ensuring-employers-harness-AI-securely-responsibly-CIPD/), read 2026-10-28: "58% of workplaces haven’t provided a clear plan on AI usage"
- [ONS BICS bulletin (latest)](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/latest), read 2026-10-12: "For businesses with 10 or more employees, 38% reported use of AI technologies, up 3 percentage points from June 2026 and 26 percentage points from September 2023."
- [Scottish Government BICS wave 165: AI](https://www.gov.scot/publications/bics-weighted-scotland-estimates-data-to-wave-165/pages/artificial-intelligence/), read 2026-10-28: "Figure 3: In September 2026, 36.9% of businesses were using some form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, with the Information & Communication sector having the highest share (75.5%)."
- [ONS BICS bulletin (latest)](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/latest), read 2026-10-12: "In September 2026, 3 in 10 (30%) businesses reported use of at least one type of AI technology."
- [ONS BICS bulletin, 2 July 2026](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/2july2026), read 2026-10-28: "Nearly three in ten (29%) businesses reported using at least one type of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in June 2026, up 8 percentage points compared with June 2025, and continuing the upward trend over the last 3 years; for businesses with 250 or more employees, the proportion was higher at 49%, up 13 percentage points from a year ago."

## Read in full, publishes no figure

- [DSIT: AI adoption research](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-adoption-research), read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- [CIPD Labour Market Outlook (AI)](https://www.cipd.org/en/about/press-releases/one-in-six-employers-say-ai-shrink-headcount-autumn-labour-market-outlook/), read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused

## Methodology

Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2). 5 of the 6 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 2 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 2 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere. The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 6 figures, never sentences; 124 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded. The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): the ONS BICS series of the share of UK businesses using AI (all businesses and 10+ employees), the Scottish BICS equivalent, and beside it the survey readings of the share with a formal AI policy, each dated and labelled official or vendor survey

## Sources

- [ONS: AI in UK businesses, 2023 to 2026](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/articles/artificialintelligenceinukbusinesses/2023to2026) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [ONS BICS bulletin, 2 July 2026](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/2july2026) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [ONS BICS bulletin (latest)](https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/latest) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Scottish Government BICS wave 165: AI](https://www.gov.scot/publications/bics-weighted-scotland-estimates-data-to-wave-165/pages/artificial-intelligence/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [DSIT: AI adoption research](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-adoption-research) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [CIPD: employers and AI](https://www.cipd.org/uk/about/news/People-profession-vital-role-ensuring-employers-harness-AI-securely-responsibly-CIPD/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [CIPD Labour Market Outlook (AI)](https://www.cipd.org/en/about/press-releases/one-in-six-employers-say-ai-shrink-headcount-autumn-labour-market-outlook/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Avado: state of AI in HR 2026](https://www.avadolearning.com/resources/the-state-of-ai-in-hr-2026/) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)

## Cite or embed

- The AI Adoption and Policy Series carries 6 published figures read from 5 sources' own pages, from 29 to 63 percent, read 28 October 2026.
- 5 of the 6 named sources read in full publish a figure; 2 publish none, read 28 October 2026.
- AI Adoption and Policy Series, measure uk-businesses-using-ai-sep-2026: median 30 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- AI Adoption and Policy Series, measure uk-businesses-10plus-using-ai-sep-2026: median 38 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- AI Adoption and Policy Series, measure uk-businesses-using-ai-jun-2026: median 29 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- AI Adoption and Policy Series, measure scottish-businesses-using-ai-sep-2026: median 36.90 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- AI Adoption and Policy Series, measure workplaces-with-no-clear-ai-usage-plan-cipd: median 58 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
- AI Adoption and Policy Series, measure organisations-with-no-formal-ai-policy-vendor-survey: median 63 percent across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.

Cite as: "doineedanaipolicy.co.uk AI Adoption and Policy Series", updated 2026-10-29, https://doineedanaipolicy.co.uk/datasets/ai-adoption-and-policy-series/.

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