AI is helping UK SME workers save 5.2 hours a week, but some businesses are really struggling to keep up

Date:
Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Description:
Smaller businesses, older workers and some British regions need more support to encourage AI adoption.

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breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter SME AI adopters are saving 5.2 hours per decision-maker per week, but adoption isn't equal 37% of sole traders and 25% of micro businesses don't use tools like ChatGPT OpenAI reckons exposure and experimentation could drive usage
New data from OpenAI shows that UK workers are already well au fait with artificial intelligence, with the tech now saving the average SME decision-maker an average of 5.2 hours per week, the equivalent of more than half a day.

However, while AI is having profound productivity impacts on some workers, others risk being left behind, with as many as one in five (19%) UK SMEs not using AI at all. It seems this is even more pronounced among the smaller companies, with just 5% of medium-sized businesses considered non-users compared with 37% of sole traders and 25% of micro businesses. Article continues below You may like SMEs are rapidly adopting AI - but a US-UK gap
is emerging Cleaning up "AI workslop" is costing businesses hundreds of hours a week How much time is AI really saving your workers? Apparently just 16 minutes a week as 'time saved generating content is being absorbed by the time required to trust it' OpenAI says Britain's SMEs are poised to unlock AI's benefits The report suggests that the fundamentals are already in place for SMEs to free up some time by using even some of the most basic AI tools, but divides are already starting to emerge. Besides the lesser uptake among smaller companies, OpenAI also highlighted regional divides with as much as 93% adoption rates in London compared with around 75% in Yorkshire & Humber, the South West and Scotland.

Figures also point to reduced adoption among older workers, with a
significant 40% of decision-makers aged 55+ not using AI compared with just
8% of 18-34-year-olds.

Citing benefits such as time savings, reduced errors and lower costs, OpenAI says workers can reinvest those 5.2 weekly hours back into creative thinking, strategic planning and product improvement, however more needs to be done to encourage AI use among non-adopters.

A joint effort between the ChatGPT-maker, Booking.com and Enterprise Nation clearly indicates that exposure and experimentation is key, with a London-based scheme offering practical training, demos and peer learning opportunities, however with adoption at its highest in London, the company could do better by expanding this to other regions. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the
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