North East and UK Small Business Search and AI Statistics 2026
By:Paul Clarke
Published:November 6, 2026
Sourced statistics on how North East and UK businesses get found in Google and AI answers. Every figure links to its source and carries its date. Compiled by Black And White Boy SEO.
Last checked: 6 November 2026. Every figure on this page was re-verified against its live source on that date.
Plenty of “statistics” pages repeat numbers they found on other statistics pages. This one goes back to the source. Each figure below links to the government department, regulator, research body or company that published it, with the date beside it.
The page is maintained by Black And White Boy SEO, the owner-operated SEO and AI-search consultancy founded by Paul Clarke in 2017, serving established businesses in Newcastle upon Tyne and the North East. We built it to answer three questions in one place: how many North East firms there are, who is using AI, and how people now search. The answers were spread across 20 reports and data releases.
Three Numbers Worth Knowing
30% of North East businesses with 5 or more employees currently use AI, including piloting, up from 13% in 2025. Across the UK the figure was 32% (16% in 2025). Source: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), AI adoption survey 2026 (telephone survey of 3,503 UK private-sector businesses with 5 or more employees, fieldwork 7 January to 21 April 2026, published 29 October 2026; North East samples of 98 firms in 2025 and 99 in 2026; report, PDF, Figure 3). No significant regional differences in 2026; BIST does not report whether the North East rise is significant. Official survey estimate.
Only 10% of North East SMEs use AI regularly, less than half the UK rate of 21%. Source: Enterprise Nation, Digital and AI adoption among UK SMEs (survey of 1,320 UK SMEs, fieldwork May 2026, published 9 June 2026; regional figures on page 6). Survey estimate.
Only 51% of adults in North East England used generative AI in the last three months, the lowest of any UK nation or region. London was highest at 69%. Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Public Engagement Survey 2025/2026 (Official Statistics; survey of 30,698 UK adults aged 16 and over, fieldwork 18 November 2025 to 31 March 2026, published 16 July 2026). The UK figure was 59%. Official survey estimate.
This section uses two kinds of official count. BIST’s business population estimates cover all private-sector businesses, including sole traders with no staff. The ONS figures count only businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE, so they are much smaller.
5.54 million of them (99.15%) were small, with 0 to 49 employees, at the start of 2026. Source: BIST, Business population estimates 2026 (published 5 November 2026).
4.1 million UK businesses (74%) employed nobody except the owners at the start of 2026. Source: BIST, Business population estimates 2026 (published 5 November 2026).
The North East had 163,000 private-sector businesses at the start of 2026, the fewest of any English region and 2.9% of the UK total. The previous edition counted 167,000 at the start of 2025. BIST says it cannot confidently say the UK business population fell, and the North East estimate has the widest margin of error of any UK nation or English region (coefficient of variation 6%), so do not read the gap as a confirmed fall. Source: BIST, Business population estimates 2026 (published 5 November 2026). 2025 figure: Department for Business and Trade (DBT), Business population estimates 2025 (published 2 October 2025).
The North East had the lowest business density of any English region at the start of 2026: 714 businesses per 10,000 adults. Source: BIST, Business population estimates 2026 (published 5 November 2026).
74,000 North East businesses were registered for VAT and/or PAYE in March 2026, 2.7% of the UK’s 2.79 million. Source: ONS, UK business: activity, size and location 2026 (published 24 September 2026).
Every UK region gained VAT/PAYE-registered businesses between March 2025 and March 2026, the first time this has happened since 2017. Source: ONS, UK business: activity, size and location 2026 (published 24 September 2026).
The North East had 77,000 active businesses in 2024, with 9,000 business births (a birth rate of 11.8%) and 8,000 deaths (a death rate of 10.3%, provisional). Source: ONS, Business demography UK: 2024 (published 20 November 2025).
Across the UK in 2024 the business birth rate was 11.1% (317,000 births) and the death rate was 9.8% (280,000 deaths, provisional). Source: ONS, Business demography UK: 2024 (published 20 November 2025).
What this means: Across the UK, almost every business is small, and three in four have no staff beyond the owners. The North East starts businesses at a slightly higher rate than the UK average, but it also loses them at a higher rate. And it has fewer businesses per adult than any other English region. Our reading, not something these statistics measure: fewer businesses per head can mean fewer direct competitors in some local markets, which makes being the firm people find in search more valuable.
How North East And UK Businesses Are Using AI
North East and UK businesses with 5 or more employees (BIST, early 2026)
Every figure in this group comes from one government survey: BIST’s AI adoption survey 2026, a telephone survey of 3,503 UK private-sector businesses with 5 or more employees, carried out 7 January to 21 April 2026 and published 29 October 2026. The North East samples are small (99 firms, and only 32 to 36 for questions asked of firms using or planning to use AI), so each figure below gives its base and says whether BIST’s tables flag the difference as significant.
30% of North East businesses with 5 or more employees currently use AI, including piloting, up from 13% in 2025. Across the UK the figure rose from 16% to 32%. The North East figure more than doubled, but so did the UK’s, so the region kept pace rather than pulled ahead. BIST found no significant regional differences in 2026 and does not report whether the North East rise is significant. Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (report, PDF, Figure 3; data tables, Table 27; North East samples of 98 firms in 2025 and 99 in 2026; published 29 October 2026). Official survey estimate. This is not the same measure as Enterprise Nation’s 10% in the next section: BIST counts any current use, including piloting, by firms with 5 or more staff, while Enterprise Nation counts regular use by all SMEs, including one-person firms.
Across the UK, AI use rises with firm size: 27% of businesses with 5 to 9 employees, 34% with 10 to 49, 47% with 50 to 249 and 52% with 250 or more (early 2026). These are UK figures, not North East ones. Each band is significantly different from the UK figure of 32%, but the two largest bands are not significantly different from each other. Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (data tables, Table 27; 1,347, 1,579, 447 and 130 firms in each band; published 29 October 2026). Official survey estimate.
Among North East firms that use or plan to use AI, 26% use it or plan to use it in sales, against 48% across the UK (early 2026). BIST’s tables flag this as significantly lower than the UK. It rests on 36 North East firms. In the same question, marketing (78%, UK 71%) and IT (80%, UK 66%) are not significantly different from the UK. Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (data tables, Table 72; published 29 October 2026). Official survey estimate, small base.
Half (50%) of North East firms that use AI said no more than 10% of their staff use it, against 38% across the UK (early 2026). That rests on 32 North East firms. BIST’s report says North East firms were “more likely” to say this, but its tables flag the North East figure only as higher than London (31%), not as significantly different from the UK average. Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (report, PDF, page 38 of the PDF; data tables, Table 69; published 29 October 2026). Official survey estimate, small base.
46% of North East businesses said they are aware of AI but it is not relevant to their organisation, against 38% across the UK (early 2026). BIST’s tables flag this only as higher than London (34%), not as significantly different from the UK average. Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (data tables, Table 3; 99 North East firms; published 29 October 2026). Official survey estimate.
North East firms name the same barriers to AI as the rest of the UK: 66% cite limited AI skills, expertise or knowledge (UK 65%) and 59% limited knowledge of how AI could help their business (UK 59%). These are factors that prevent, or have prevented, adoption, asked of all firms (early 2026). Neither North East figure is significantly different from the UK. Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (data tables, Table 59; 99 North East firms; published 29 October 2026). Official survey estimate.
UK businesses (ONS, 2023 to 2026)
30% of UK businesses used at least one type of AI technology in September 2026, up from 9% in September 2023. Source: ONS, Business insights and impact on the UK economy, 8 October 2026 (BICS wave 165, fieldwork 21 September to 4 October 2026). Official survey estimate.
Text generation with large language models was the most-used AI technology, at 21% of businesses with 10 or more employees, ahead of visual content creation at 19% (September 2026). Source: ONS, Business insights and impact on the UK economy, 8 October 2026 (published 8 October 2026).
Businesses that use AI use only 1.6 AI technologies on average, up from around 1.4 in September 2023. ONS describes this as “rising only modestly”. Source: ONS, Artificial intelligence in UK businesses: 2023 to 2026 (published 20 July 2026; businesses with 10 or more employees).
North East firms have caught up on trying AI
Share of businesses with 5 or more employees currently using AI, including piloting
North East, 202513%
UK, 202516%
North East, 202630%
UK, 202632%
Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (telephone survey of 3,503 UK private-sector businesses with 5 or more employees, 7 January to 21 April 2026, published 29 October 2026. Official survey estimate). North East samples: 98 businesses in 2025, 99 in 2026. The survey found no significant differences between regions in 2026, and does not report a significance test for the North East change between years. Chart: Black And White Boy SEO.
The smallest firms are least likely to use AI
Share of UK businesses currently using AI, including piloting, by number of employees, 2026
5 to 927%
10 to 4934%
50 to 24947%
250 or more52%
Source: BIST, AI adoption survey 2026 (telephone survey of 3,503 UK private-sector businesses with 5 or more employees, 7 January to 21 April 2026, published 29 October 2026. Official survey estimate). All businesses with 5 or more employees: 32%. Each size band differs significantly from that figure. Chart: Black And White Boy SEO.
UK businesses using AI has more than tripled since 2023
Share of all UK businesses using at least one AI technology
What this means: Our reading, not something any one survey measures: North East firms have caught up on trying AI, but not on using it. Among firms with 5 or more staff, 30% in the North East now use AI in some form, close to the UK’s 32% (BIST). The signs of depth point the other way. Only 10% of North East SMEs use AI regularly, against 21% across the UK (Enterprise Nation). Among North East firms that use or plan to use AI, 26% use it or plan to in sales, against 48% across the UK: the only North East gap here that BIST flags as significant against the UK, on 36 firms. Half of North East AI users say no more than 10% of their staff use it (UK 38%), but that rests on 32 firms and is not flagged against the UK. These are different surveys and questions, so read them as a pattern, not a proven gap. The barriers are the UK’s too: skills, and knowing how AI could help. Firm size splits AI use more clearly than region does (27% of UK firms with 5 to 9 staff, 52% with 250 or more). So the useful question for a North East owner is less “has anyone here tried AI?” and more “is anyone using it regularly, for real work?”
Small Business Digital Adoption
74% of UK SME employers used technology or web-based software to sell to customers or run the business in 2025, up from 69% in 2024 and 61% in 2023. Source: BIST, Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2025: SME employers (8,022 SME employers, fieldwork October 2025 to April 2026, published 15 October 2026). Official survey estimate.
34% of UK SME employers that use any technology or web-based software use AI, according to the 2025 survey (49% of medium-sized firms, 40% of small and 32% of micro firms). Source: BIST, Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2025: SME employers (published 15 October 2026).
57% of UK SMEs describe themselves as highly or moderately digital, and 7% as mostly offline. Source: Enterprise Nation, Digital and AI adoption among UK SMEs (online survey of 1,320 UK SMEs by Strand Partners, fieldwork May 2026, published 9 June 2026). Survey estimate.
21% of UK SMEs use AI regularly: 6% have it built into daily work and 15% use it regularly for specific tasks. 39% do not use it at all. Source: Enterprise Nation, Digital and AI adoption among UK SMEs (fieldwork May 2026). Survey estimate.
Only 10% of North East SMEs use AI regularly, the second-lowest rate after Northern Ireland (6%). London leads at 30%. Source: Enterprise Nation, Digital and AI adoption among UK SMEs (fieldwork May 2026; page 6 map). Survey estimate; the report does not publish regional sample sizes.
62% of North East SMEs spent more than £2,000 on digital and AI tools last year, a bigger share than in London (53%) or the South East (51%). Source: Enterprise Nation, Digital and AI adoption among UK SMEs (fieldwork May 2026). Survey estimate.
SME use of technology to sell or run the business keeps rising
Share of UK SME employers using technology or web-based software
North East SMEs are among the least likely to use AI regularly
Share of SMEs using AI regularly, May 2026
London30%
Scotland27%
UK21%
North East10%
Northern Ireland6%
Source: Enterprise Nation, Digital and AI adoption among UK SMEs (survey of 1,320 UK SMEs, fieldwork May 2026, published 9 June 2026. Survey estimate). Enterprise Nation does not publish regional sample sizes. Chart: Black And White Boy SEO.
North East SMEs are three times as likely to be mostly offline
Share of SMEs describing themselves as mostly offline, May 2026
What this means: The North East figures do not point to firms refusing to spend. A bigger share of North East SMEs (62%) spent over £2,000 on digital and AI tools than London SMEs (53%). Yet a third of North East SMEs cite outdated devices or IT (33% against 17% across the UK), and 22% are mostly offline, three times the UK rate of 7%. Spending has not yet turned into being more digital.
How The UK Searches
Google had a 90.59% share of the UK search engine market in October 2026. Bing had 6.76% and Yahoo 1.37%. DuckDuckGo had 0.7%. Source: Statcounter, search engine market share, United Kingdom (October 2026, all platforms).
97% of UK internet users had looked something up using a search engine, such as Google or Bing, in the last three months, without help from anyone else. It was the most common digital task in the survey. The base is internet users (95% of adults), not all adults, and the figure covers any search engine, not only Google. Source: DSIT, Public Engagement Survey 2025/2026 (survey of 30,698 UK adults aged 16 and over, fieldwork November 2025 to March 2026, published 16 July 2026). Official survey estimate.
What this means: In the UK, search still means Google: Statcounter puts its share of the UK search engine market at about nine in ten. And searching is close to universal: 97% of internet users looked something up with a search engine in the last three months (DSIT). If a North East business only has time to get one channel right, Google is still that channel, and the basics of search engine optimisation come before anything newer.
AI Search And AI Answers
An AI Overview is the AI-generated summary Google shows at the top of some search results, above the ordinary links. The figures below do not all measure the same thing, so check the country, population and time window beside each one.
How many people use AI
59% of UK adults used a form of generative AI in the last three months. London was highest at 69% and North East England lowest at 51%, out of the UK’s 12 nations and regions. Generative AI here means tools that create text or speech (such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini), tools that create or edit images, video or music, or workplace AI systems that act on their own. Using a voice assistant such as Siri or Alexa does not count on its own. This is the survey’s first year, so there is no trend yet, and DSIT says its results are not directly comparable with the older Participation Survey. Source: DSIT, Public Engagement Survey 2025/2026 (Official Statistics; survey of 30,698 UK adults aged 16 and over, fieldwork 18 November 2025 to 31 March 2026, published 16 July 2026; regional figures in the AI data tables, Table E6). Official survey estimate.
Weekly use of generative AI in the UK rose from 13% in 2024 to 28% in 2025 and 42% in 2026. In 2026 that was the lowest of the nine countries surveyed. Weekly use means using any of the named generative AI chatbots or tools at least once a week, for any purpose. In the same survey, 32% of all UK respondents had tried generative AI for getting information in the last week. Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Generative AI and News Report 2026 (YouGov online panel, UK sample 2,232, fieldwork 14 to 24 August 2026, published 29 October 2026). Survey estimate, online panel: people who are not online are under-represented.
54% of UK adults say they use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, rising to 79% of 16 to 24-year-olds and 74% of 25 to 34-year-olds. Ofcom’s question sets no time window. Source: Ofcom, Adults’ media use and attitudes 2026 (survey of 7,533 UK adults, of whom 3,768 were asked this question; fieldwork 29 September to 28 November 2025, published 2 April 2026). Survey estimate.
Why these three figures differ: 59% (DSIT) counts anyone who used generative AI in the last three months, 54% (Ofcom) counts adults who say they use AI tools at all, and 42% (Reuters Institute) counts weekly use. A three-month window catches occasional users that a weekly measure misses, and the three surveys used different methods at different times, so do not rank them or read them as a trend.
How many people see AI answers in search
53% of UK respondents saw or engaged with AI-generated answers, summaries or assistants in search engines such as Google and Bing in the last week. That covers both choosing to use one and simply seeing one. Source: Reuters Institute, Generative AI and News Report 2026 (YouGov online panel, UK sample 2,232, fieldwork 14 to 24 August 2026, published 29 October 2026). Survey estimate, online panel.
75% of UK online adults say they read AI search summaries at least some of the time, and 42% read them often or always. Ofcom showed respondents an example of an AI search summary, the kind Google calls an AI Overview. Source: Ofcom, Adults’ media use and attitudes 2026 report (PDF) (page 12; survey of 7,533 UK adults, fieldwork 29 September to 28 November 2025, published 2 April 2026). Survey estimate.
Which AI tools, and how big they are
ChatGPT had 44% of the UK AI chatbot market in October 2026, by Statcounter’s measurement of AI chatbot market share, ahead of Google Gemini (31%), Microsoft Copilot (11%), Perplexity (10%) and Claude (4%). Statcounter’s page states no method, and these shares moved sharply between September and October 2026, so treat them as a one-month snapshot. Source: Statcounter, AI chatbot market share, United Kingdom (October 2026, all platforms).
Global, company-reported: Google said AI Overviews had over 2.5 billion monthly active users in May 2026. This is not a UK figure. Source: Google, I/O 2026 keynote remarks (19 May 2026).
Global, company-reported: Google said in July 2026 that AI Mode had surpassed 1 billion monthly active users. Source: Google, Q2 2026 earnings call remarks (22 July 2026).
Global, company-reported: in October 2026, Google said the Gemini app “is now at one billion users”. Google did not say how it counts those users. Source: Google, Q3 2026 earnings call remarks (28 October 2026).
What happens to clicks (US data)
US data: Google users clicked a traditional search result in 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, against 15% when one did not. Source: Pew Research Center (browsing data from 900 US adults, March 2025, published 22 July 2025).
US data: users clicked a link inside the AI summary in just 1% of visits to pages with one. Source: Pew Research Center (March 2025, published 22 July 2025).
US data: 18% of the Google searches in Pew’s March 2025 study produced an AI summary. Source: Pew Research Center (published 22 July 2025).
North East adults use generative AI least of any UK region
Share of adults who used a form of generative AI in the last three months
London (highest)69%
UK59%
North East (lowest)51%
Source: DSIT, Public Engagement Survey 2025/2026 (Official Statistics; 30,698 UK adults, fieldwork November 2025 to March 2026, published 16 July 2026. Official survey estimate). First-year results, so there is no earlier figure to compare. Chart: Black And White Boy SEO.
Weekly use of generative AI in the UK has tripled since 2024
Share of UK adults using any generative AI system in the past week
202413%
202528%
202642%
Source: Reuters Institute, Generative AI and News Report 2026 (YouGov online panel, UK sample 2,232, fieldwork August 2026, published 29 October 2026. Survey estimate). Online panels under-represent people who are rarely online. Chart: Black And White Boy SEO.
ChatGPT leads UK AI chatbots, with Gemini second
UK AI chatbot market share, all platforms, October 2026
US data: clicks roughly halve when an AI summary appears
Share of Google search visits where the user clicked a link, US, March 2025
Ordinary result, no AI summary15%
Ordinary result, with AI summary8%
Link inside the AI summary1%
Source: Pew Research Center (browsing data from 900 US adults, March 2025, published 22 July 2025. US data). Chart: Black And White Boy SEO.
What this means: Most UK online adults now read AI search summaries at least some of the time (75%, Ofcom). In Pew’s US data, people clicked ordinary results roughly half as often when an AI summary appeared. We have not found UK click data of the same quality, so we cannot say how big the effect is in the UK. Our reading for a North East business: being a source an AI answer can draw on now matters alongside ranking in the ordinary results below it. Checking where you stand on both is the job of an SEO and AI visibility audit.
Reviews And AI Recommendations (US Data)
We have not found a UK study of this kind. The figures below come from BrightLocal’s consumer survey. BrightLocal’s page does not state its sample or survey country, but its context is the US, so read them as US data.
US data: 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and 41% “always” read them (29% the year before). Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (BrightLocal’s own consumer survey, published 11 February 2026; sample and country not stated on the page). Company survey estimate.
US data: use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools for local business recommendations rose from 6% to 45% in a year. Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (published 11 February 2026). Company survey estimate.
US data: 40% of consumers trust AI platforms to recommend businesses, and 82% read AI-generated review summaries. Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (published 11 February 2026). Company survey estimate.
What this means: Reviews now do two jobs. People read them, and AI tools summarise them when someone asks for a recommendation. A business with few or old reviews gives an AI assistant little to work with. We would expect UK behaviour to follow, but we have not found a UK study that measures it yet.
What This Means For A North East Business
Here is the plain-English version, based only on the numbers above.
Google is still the main road. Statcounter puts its share of the UK search engine market at about nine in ten (October 2026). Get the basics right there first.
AI answers now sit on top of search, and they can cost you clicks. 75% of UK online adults read AI search summaries at least some of the time (Ofcom, April 2026), and 53% of UK respondents saw or engaged with AI answers in search engines in the last week (Reuters Institute online panel, October 2026). US data shows clicks to ordinary results fall when an AI summary appears (Pew, July 2025). Your page needs to be worth quoting, not only worth ranking.
Trying AI has caught up. Using it has not. That is our reading of the business figures. 30% of North East firms with 5 or more staff currently use AI, including piloting, up from 13% in 2025 and close to the UK’s 32% (BIST, October 2026; 99 North East firms surveyed, no significant regional differences). But only 10% of North East SMEs use AI regularly, against 21% across the UK (Enterprise Nation, June 2026). Among the public, 51% of adults in North East England used generative AI in the last three months, the lowest of any UK nation or region, against 59% across the UK (DSIT, July 2026). These measure different groups in different ways, so they cannot be ranked against each other. If you sell to the public, many of the people you want to reach probably use AI tools already, whatever your own business does with them.
Spending has not yet turned into being digital. A bigger share of North East SMEs (62%) spent over £2,000 on digital and AI tools than London SMEs (53%), yet 22% of North East SMEs are mostly offline, against 4% in London, and a third cite outdated devices or IT (Enterprise Nation, June 2026). The gap looks like set-up, not willingness to spend.
Fewer businesses can mean fewer rivals. The North East has the fewest private-sector businesses and the lowest business density of any English region (BIST, November 2026). In some local markets that can mean fewer direct competitors, so being the name that shows up in search can be a real advantage.
Methodology And Sources
We include a figure only if we could open its original source and read the number there. Every figure on this page was checked against its live source on 6 November 2026. We prefer official UK sources (BIST, DSIT, ONS, Ofcom). Where we use a survey, a company’s own figure, a global figure or US data, the sentence says so. “Official survey estimate” marks a government survey from ONS, BIST or DSIT. “Online panel” marks the Reuters Institute survey, which YouGov ran with people recruited online, so it under-represents people who are not online. Where a source leaves out something you would need to judge a figure, such as BrightLocal’s sample or Statcounter’s method for AI chatbot share, we say that too.
When a newer release comes out, we update the figure and the date. Where a newer release changed a number, we say which edition we used.
Sources used
Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Business population estimates 2026, 5 November 2026. Official statistic in development.
Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, AI adoption survey 2026, 29 October 2026 (report, PDF, Figure 3 for 2025 and 2026 regions; data tables, Tables 3, 27, 59, 69 and 72).
The page is compiled by Paul Clarke, founder and director of Black And White Boy SEO, with 20 years in digital marketing. About Black And White Boy SEO.
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30% of North East businesses with 5 or more employees currently use AI, including piloting, up from 13% in 2025 and against 32% across the UK, according to BIST survey data compiled by Black And White Boy SEO: https://blackandwhiteboy.com/north-east-small-business-search-statistics/
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FAQ
How many businesses are there in the North East?
There were 163,000 private-sector businesses in the North East at the start of 2026, the fewest of any English region (BIST, published 5 November 2026). A narrower count, businesses registered for VAT or PAYE, gives 74,000 in March 2026 (ONS, published 24 September 2026). The first figure includes sole traders with no staff.
How many North East businesses use AI?
It depends on what you count. 30% of North East businesses with 5 or more employees currently use AI, including piloting, up from 13% in 2025, against 32% across the UK (BIST AI adoption survey 2026, telephone survey January to April 2026, published 29 October 2026; North East samples of 98 businesses in 2025 and 99 in 2026). BIST found no significant regional differences in 2026. Only 10% of North East SMEs use AI regularly, against 21% across the UK (Enterprise Nation survey, fieldwork May 2026). The first counts any current use, including piloting, by firms with 5 or more staff; the second counts regular use by all SMEs, including one-person firms. Both are survey estimates.
How many UK businesses use AI?
30% of UK businesses used at least one AI technology in September 2026 (ONS, published 8 October 2026). For firms with 10 or more employees, the figure was 38%.
What share of UK searches go through Google?
Google had a 90.59% share of the UK search engine market in October 2026 (Statcounter, all platforms). Bing was second with 6.76%.
How many UK adults see or read AI answers in search?
75% of UK online adults say they read AI search summaries, such as Google’s AI Overviews, at least some of the time, and 42% read them often or always (Ofcom survey of 7,533 adults, fieldwork autumn 2025, published 2 April 2026). In a separate survey, 53% of UK respondents saw or engaged with AI-generated answers in search engines in the last week (Reuters Institute, YouGov online panel of 2,232 UK respondents, August 2026, published 29 October 2026). The second is an online panel, so it under-represents people who are not online.
Do AI summaries reduce clicks to websites?
In the US, yes. Pew found people clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits with an AI summary, against 15% without (browsing data from 900 US adults, March 2025). We have not found UK data of the same quality.
How many UK adults use AI tools?
It depends on the survey and the time window. 59% of UK adults used a form of generative AI in the last three months, and 51% in North East England (DSIT Public Engagement Survey, Official Statistics, fieldwork November 2025 to March 2026, published 16 July 2026). 54% of UK adults say they use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, with no time window set (Ofcom survey of 7,533 adults, fieldwork autumn 2025, published 2 April 2026); among 16 to 24-year-olds it is 79%. Weekly use was 42% in August 2026 (Reuters Institute, YouGov online panel).
How often is this page updated?
We re-check every figure when a source publishes a new edition. The “last checked” date at the top tells you when we last did it.
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