The UK is well-placed to be a world leader in what Salesforce calls the third wave of AI innovation: agentic AI.

This is according to Salesforce’s new UK AI Readiness Index, which highlights the UK’s above-G7 average performance in AI adoption, while identifying key opportunities for improvement, including SME support, fostering partnerships and upskilling talent.

The report found that both public and private sectors in the UK have embraced the transformational opportunity offered by AI.

“The Salesforce UK AI Readiness Index highlights the UK’s strong position to lead the next wave of AI innovation,” Antony Walker, deputy CEO at techUK, said.

“In the year ahead, new productivity tools such as AI agents have the potential to deliver real productivity benefits to businesses. To build this progress, government and industry must collaborate to foster innovation, support SMEs, invest in skills, and ensure flexible regulation, cementing the UK’s leadership in the global AI economy.”

Strong innovation culture, robust tech investments, and ‘pragmatic regulations’ position the UK ahead of its G7 peers, Salesforce found.

The report assesses the UK’s readiness for AI adoption across three areas, including its overall readiness for AI adoption and innovation, government readiness and how AI is used across the public sector, and business readiness.

Against a G7 average of 61.2, the UK rises above with a score of 65.5. Both government and business readiness scores are also higher than the respective G7 averages.

At government level, readiness to adopt and innovate is supported by strong citizen participation in e-services. The UK is also seen as a stable, safe environment in which to invest in large-scale IT projects, the report found.

The UK has made moves to integrate AI into government organisations, recognising its vitality in today’s economy. Introducing the Office for Artificial Intelligence as well as hosting the AI Safety Summit has put eyes on the country for its AI ambitions.

Further, the new Government’s proposed risk-based AI legislation serves to highlight the UK’s global AI leadership on critical issues such as transparency, privacy and security.

On business readiness, the UK score of 52 again compares favourably with the G7 average score of 47.8. UK industries are performing well on adoption of AI, supported by the increasing prioritisation among SMEs for AI adoption.

It is interesting to note that the UK’s government readiness is higher than its business readiness, showing the despite a range of AI policies, the UK has yet to see this translate fully into tangible private sector outcomes.

The report also found that the UK is a hot spot for investment, but there are moves the UK can make to reinforce its leadership position.

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This includes increasing collaboration between governments, business, and academia, as well as creating an adaptive regulatory framework to create a bridge between the EU’s AI Act and the US’s more relaxed approach to AI.

Further, supporting SMEs to adopt AI, and ensuring there is sustained and enhanced investment in innovation and research, will continue to set the UK apart.

Among the most pressing priorities is investment in people and digital skills, as well as defining centralised structures to support widespread training and development.

“These findings are further proof the UK is in prime position to take advantage of AI, and highlight our strength in spurring innovation, investment and collaboration across the public and private sector,” Feryal Clark, minister for AI and Digital Government, said.

“There is a global race for AI and we’ll be setting out plans for how the UK can use the technology to ramp-up adoption across the economy, kickstart growth and build an AI sector which can scale and compete on the global stage.”