Greater adoption of agentic artificial intelligence could help rejuvenate Britain’s sluggish economy, according to business and technology leaders speaking at an AI summit held at the House of Lords.
The event, chaired by Steven George-Hilley, founder of Centropy PR, brought together senior figures from the technology, legal, financial services and cybersecurity sectors to examine how AI is reshaping economic growth, jobs and boardroom decision-making.
A central theme of the summit was the role of agentic AI systems, autonomous tools capable of acting on goals with minimal human intervention, in helping small and medium-sized enterprises access advanced capabilities that were previously out of reach. Speakers argued that AI-driven sales, customer management and decision-support systems could level the playing field for SMEs and unlock productivity gains across the economy.
Participants also warned of a looming “skills cliff edge” as AI adoption accelerates, particularly among smaller businesses that lack the resources to retrain staff at pace. Without targeted support, the UK risks widening the gap between large enterprises and the SME sector that underpins much of the economy, the summit heard.
Rupert Osborne, UK chief executive of Capital.com, said AI could play a crucial role in improving financial decision-making by making complex market data easier to understand.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
