The UK risks losing ground in the global race to harness artificial intelligence, with small businesses in particular falling behind their American counterparts, according to Debbie Weinstein, President of Google Europe.
Weinstein, who previously led Google’s UK and Ireland operations, said that while Britain remains an innovation hub, its small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are slower to adopt AI — a gap that could limit productivity growth and wider economic gains.
“The biggest gap in terms of productivity-led growth is with the US,” Weinstein said. “If you look at what’s driven the US relative to the UK over the last ten years, a lot of the unlock that is missing in this country comes down to productivity.”
Research from Google suggests that AI-powered tools could increase productivity among UK SMEs by up to 20%, effectively giving employees an extra working day each week.
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