A shortage of AI upskilling is stalling pilot projects across the UK, risking British firms falling behind EMEA rivals, new data from IBM warns.

The tech firm’s latest report, The Race for ROI, found that while 66% of UK enterprises are experiencing significant AI productivity improvements, nearly the same number (62%) believe they haven’t yet tapped into the full potential of the technology.  

Polling 500 UK business leaders across diverse industries, including banking, energy and the public sector, IBM found that despite the nationwide rollout of AI, only 45% of UK businesses offer company-wide or role-specific training.

Compounding the problem, inclusive workforce transformation remains a low priority, with just 38% of organisations ensuring AI upskilling reaches employees across every role, age, and technical ability.

Although the lack of training is a major problem, businesses also face challenges in quantifying ROI from their AI adoption, hindering further investment plans.

According to IBM, the biggest barriers to measuring AI ROI include high upfront investment costs that skew short-term returns (37%), difficulty isolating AI’s impact on business outcomes (35%), and a shortage of skills or expertise (31%).

Still, there are signs of momentum, with over a quarter (27%) of UK senior leaders saying their companies are seeing financial or cost-saving returns from AI initiatives, and another 34% expecting similar outcomes within the next year.

Meanwhile, 41% of European leaders anticipate returns on their AI investments in less than a year, with almost three-quarters (72%) of enterprises already reporting productivity gains.

That could soon be supercharged by the introduction of more advanced AI, with 92% of EMEA leaders expecting agentic AI to deliver measurable ROI within two years.  

Across the EMEA region, IBM’s data shows that firms are increasingly leveraging technology for strategic transformation, with 24% of those reporting gains attributing AI to fundamental changes in their business models.

In the UK, however, companies are more likely to use AI to accelerate innovation timelines (41% vs 36% EMEA) and replace traditional planning cycles with real-time, AI-led decision-making (39% vs 32% EMEA).

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To help UK firms close the ROI gap with continental competitors, IBM advises business leaders to adopt a unified AI strategy, build AI literacy from entry-level to boardroom, and establish cross-functional “AI Boards” to guide ethical and risk-based decisions.

“UK businesses are clearly seeing the productivity benefits of AI, with two-thirds already reporting significant gains,” said Leon Butler, chief executive of IBM UK and Ireland.

“But the real opportunity lies ahead—unlocking even greater value through workforce transformation and upskilling. By investing in AI skills training across all levels, organisations can not only outperform their peers but build a future-ready workforce that drives innovation and resilience.”