AI-driven software innovation could unlock over £5 billion in value in the UK, according to estimates by GitLab.

The DevSecOps platform has released its 2025 executive research report which surveyed 253 C-level executives in the UK on the role of software innovation in business success.

The findings reveal significant savings resulting in AI adoption, with the potential for even more savings across UK businesses.

Executives in the UK recognise that AI-enhanced software innovation is driving a significant economic shift, serving as a key driver of business growth and expansion. However, while AI adoption is delivering measurable ROI and increased productivity, the report also surfaces around skills gaps, human-machine collaboration, and the need for formal governance of agentic AI.

Additionally, while leaders aspire to achieve optimal productivity through a 50/50 human-AI partnership, the current reality reveals that humans handle three-quarters of the work, and AI contributes just one-quarter. This disconnect exists alongside persistent concerns about job displacement, the perceived complexity of AI systems, and cybersecurity.

Unlocking Billions

Executives surveyed in the UK report saving an average of £11,008.57 per developer annually from AI investments, translating to £5.12 billion in potential economic value when applied to the UK’s 465,000 developers.

Software innovation is now a core business priority to 89% of those surveyed, while 61% say that their organisation has experienced improved customer experience thanks to the software innovation in the last year.

Overall, UK leaders estimate a 53% increase in revenue and a 54% increase in developer productivity due to the use of AI.

Agentic AI Takes Off

The majority (86%) of executives expect agentic AI to become the industry standard for software development within three years.

However, topping the list of concerns around the adoption of agentic AI are cybersecurity threats (61%), data privacy and security (51%), and errors introduced by AI agents (44%).

On top of this, 57% are implementing regulatory-aligned governance framework – while this is a positive step, it leaves a major gap concerning those that have not started implementing governance into their AI strategy.

To achieve security and AI governance, 54% are employing third-party audits, while 51% are developing internal AI policies.

Talent Gaps

All of the executives surveyed say that human contributions are valuable for software development.

Nine in ten (90%) express that businesses should prioritise training employees to work alongside agentic AI to address skill gaps.

Nearly three in four (72%) believe that human input for human-AI partnership should be at least 50/50, with only 28% believing that AI should do the majority of the work.

Creativity (43%) and strategic vision (38%) rank as the most valued human contributions to software development.

Recommended reading

• Barclays: Average AI Investment by UK Businesses This Year is £235k
• Google Commits £5bn to UK AI Push
• UK Gov M365 Copilot Trial Found Little Productivity Gains

Boardroom Priorities

The vast majority (93%) of executives said their board has bought into the benefits of software innovation, with 78% reporting a willingness to invest over half their company’s annual IT budget to prioritise software innovation.

Most (88%) have also adopted frameworks linking software development activities to key business outcomes, with the most common metrics used to measure software innovation success being increased business growth (55%), enhanced customer experience (54%), and improved problem-solving capability (48%).

“AI-fuelled software innovation is an undeniable source of competitive advantage and economic impact, with 89% of executives in the UK saying that it’s now a core business priority,” said Louise Fellows, vice president of UK at GitLab.

“The companies pulling ahead are the ones blending AI with human expertise, leveraging agentic AI with intention, aligning software strategy with business value, and building guardrails to innovate responsibly.

“With £5+ billion per year in potential value at stake, the organisations that optimise this human-AI partnership today will define the future of software tomorrow.”