SAP News Center · 14 Oct, 11:01 · Artificial Intelligence briefing

Average UK business spending £20.6 million on AI, with returns set to rise to 39% by 2028

New data from SAP indicates that UK businesses are significantly increasing their financial commitment to artificial intelligence, with average spending reaching £20.6 million.

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The briefing

The story
in brief.

What happened, who it affects, and why it landed on our intelligence desk — in plain English, sixty seconds or less.

New data from SAP indicates that UK businesses are significantly increasing their financial commitment to artificial intelligence, with average spending reaching £20.6 million. The report projects a substantial growth in returns on this investment, expected to rise to 39% by 2028. This trend highlights a strategic shift towards AI integration as a core driver of corporate value and efficiency across the British economy, signalling long-term confidence in the technology's ability to generate tangible business outcomes.

Employer demand for AI Strategy skills — indexed growth since 2019
Indicative index of skill mentions in professional job postings for the field this story moves (2019 = 1)

Your move

What this means
for your career.

Every headline redistributes opportunity. Here is who this one rewards — and how to be on the right side of it.

This surge in spending signals a critical shift in the labour market. You must move beyond basic awareness to practical application. Skills in interpreting AI outputs and aligning technology with business goals will command premium salaries. Focus on developing hybrid expertise that bridges technical understanding with strategic decision-making. If you are in management, prioritise learning how to measure AI ROI effectively. For individual contributors, upskill in data literacy and prompt engineering to enhance your productivity immediately. Do not wait for formal training; start experimenting with AI tools in your daily workflow today. Professionals who can demonstrate how AI drives efficiency and revenue will become indispensable. Ignoring this trend risks professional obsolescence, while embracing it positions you for accelerated career growth in an increasingly automated landscape.

For this story, the fields that convert it into pay are AI Strategy, Data Science, Business And Management and Artificial Intelligence — exactly the programmes matched below. The chart shows the indicative salary uplift certified professionals report in each of those fields; every one of them is a click away, from £79, finishing in as few as 20 days.

Indicative salary uplift in the fields matched to this story
Indicative ranges from published continuing-education salary studies, by field — each field is a recommended course below

Matched to this story

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