AI driving productivity and bottom line gains for UK businesses, APM finds

Artificial Intelligence is helping to boost productivity and bottom-line impact for UK businesses, according to a survey of senior leaders by Association for Project Management (APM).

Nearly half (44%) of business leaders report that AI is having a positive impact on their bottom line, compared to just 20% who report a negative impact.

The impact is also being felt in terms of productivity, with 43% of business leaders reporting a positive impact on productivity across their organisation, or parts of it. Only 13% report a negative effect, while 18% are still unclear on the impact.

The findings are from a survey of 500 UK business leaders, conducted by APM in partnership with research company Censuswide.

Analysing by sector, the positive impact on productivity is most keenly felt in Technology, where 56% of leaders say AI is improving productivity.

Leaders seeing a positive impact on productivity by industry sector:

• Technology (56%)
• Financial Services (54%)
• Energy (50%)
• Central/Local Government (44%)
• Manufacturing (42%)
• Transport and Logistics (40%)
• Healthcare (40%)
• Engineering (40%)
• Aerospace and Defence (38%)
• Construction (28%)

Business leaders in Technology also reported the biggest boost to their bottom line, with 71% seeing a positive impact.

Leaders seeing a positive impact on their bottom line by industry sector:

• Technology (71%)
• Manufacturing (51%)
• Healthcare (51%)
• Financial Services (50%)
• Transport and Logistics (49%)
• Construction (48%)
• Central/Local Government (38%)
• Energy (31%)
• Engineering (29%)
• Aerospace and Defence (20%)

Of those who report a positive boost in productivity, the business functions experiencing the greatest benefit are IT (according to 15% of respondents), Finance/Accounting (14%), and Research and Development and Customer Service (both 12%).

Among the minority of business leaders in the survey who reported a negative impact on productivity, the most common issues cited were scope being too broad (12%), lessons learned from previous implementations not being applied (11%), integration challenges (10%) and a lack of internal skills/lack of budget for external support (10%).

Professor Adam Boddison OBE, Chief Executive of APM, commented: "It’s extremely encouraging to see almost all business leaders engaging with AI and, crucially, translating that investment into real-world productivity and financial gains.

“The data confirms that AI is not just a futuristic aspiration but a current, material driver of success for the UK project economy. This data underscores the need for project professionals to strategically embed AI in how projects are scoped, planned, and delivered to maximise these benefits.

APM offers a wide range of professional development resources, qualifications and networking opportunities, including an AI and Data Analytics Interest Network, to support both individuals and organisations in enhancing project delivery capability.