AI in the United Kingdom
43.7% of people of working age in the United Kingdom were using AI tools in 2026-Q2, by Microsoft's estimate, behind 7 of 147 economies. 7 instruments relevant to AI in UK law and policy are indexed, 4 of them binding. Epoch AI lists 89 notable models with a developer in the United Kingdom, and 1 AI datacentre site is recorded there in Epoch AI's hub.
- 43.7% of the working-age population using AI tools, 2026-Q2 AI Diffusion Report: AI User Share Microsoft AI for Good Lab Derived from anonymised Microsoft telemetry, then adjusted for OS/device market share, internet penetration and a modelled mobile-to-desktop ratio. It therefore measures Microsoft-visible AI use, scaled, not observed total AI use. Systematically less reliable where Microsoft platform share is low, and it cannot see AI embedded in products users do not recognise as AI. Cite Microsoft AI for Good Lab, "AI Diffusion Report: AI User Share". https://github.com/microsoft/ai-diffusion-report. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
- 4 of 7 indexed instruments that are binding law AI Law and Policy Index This site Our own reading of primary instruments, with a link to each. Not legal advice, not a compliance checklist and not exhaustive. Instruments that never mention AI are included where they apply to it, which is most of the Australian list. Statuses and commencement dates go stale; every record carries its review date. Cite AI Safety Tracker, "AI Law and Policy Index". https://aisafetytracker.org/policy/. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
- 6 of 10 governance readiness points AI Governance Readiness Index This site Our own editorial coding from primary legal sources, not an objective measurement. Every score cites a specific instrument and article. "Readiness" means the machinery exists to govern AI. It is emphatically not a judgement that the resulting rules are good, proportionate, or well enforced. Cite AI Safety Tracker, "AI Governance Readiness Index". https://aisafetytracker.org/methodology/governance-readiness/. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
- 88 MW of IT power planned at 1 site in Epoch AI's hub, 88 MW of it operating AI Data Centers Epoch AI The largest AI sites Epoch has found, mostly in the United States. Epoch estimated in September 2026 that they hold 44% of the world's deployed AI compute, with a 90% interval of 23% to 81%. Power, compute and cost are Epoch's estimates from satellite imagery, permits and company statements; four in five IT power estimates fall within a factor of 1.4 of the true value. The owner is the owner of the chips, not necessarily of the building. Capacity after the date of retrieval is Epoch's projection. Coordinates are read from the hub's map page, which publishes them; the downloads do not. Cite Epoch AI, "AI Data Centers". https://epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
Law and policy
7 instruments that apply to AI in the United Kingdom, grouped by how binding each is. 4 are binding law, and none of those names AI or deepfakes in its title. AI Law and Policy Index This site Our own reading of primary instruments, with a link to each. Not legal advice, not a compliance checklist and not exhaustive. Instruments that never mention AI are included where they apply to it, which is most of the Australian list. Statuses and commencement dates go stale; every record carries its review date. Cite AI Safety Tracker, "AI Law and Policy Index". https://aisafetytracker.org/policy/. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
| Binding instrument | Kind | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 | Act | 2025 |
| Online Safety Act 2023 | Act | 2023 |
| Data Protection Act 2018 | Act | 2018 |
| Equality Act 2010 | Act | 2010 |
Data: the AI Law and Policy Index, read from each primary instrument. Not legal advice.
Use of AI tools
Share of the working-age population using AI tools, by reporting period, and the economies ranked either side of the United Kingdom in 2026-Q2. Microsoft's estimate from its own telemetry, scaled to each population. AI Diffusion Report: AI User Share Microsoft AI for Good Lab Derived from anonymised Microsoft telemetry, then adjusted for OS/device market share, internet penetration and a modelled mobile-to-desktop ratio. It therefore measures Microsoft-visible AI use, scaled, not observed total AI use. Systematically less reliable where Microsoft platform share is low, and it cannot see AI embedded in products users do not recognise as AI. Cite Microsoft AI for Good Lab, "AI Diffusion Report: AI User Share". https://github.com/microsoft/ai-diffusion-report. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
- 36.4% 2025-H1
- 38.9% 2025-H2
- 42.2% 2026-Q1
- 43.7% 2026-Q2
| Economy | 2026-Q2 | Rank | Relative magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 49.9% | 3 | |
| France | 49.6% | 4 | |
| Norway | 49.4% | 5 | |
| Spain | 45.1% | 6 | |
| New Zealand | 44.1% | 7 | |
| United Kingdom | 43.7% | 8 | |
| Netherlands | 43.5% | 9 | |
| Qatar | 43.5% | 9 | |
| Australia | 40.7% | 11 | |
| South Korea | 40.6% | 12 | |
| Belgium | 40.3% | 13 |
Ranked within 147 economies. Bars are scaled to the highest share, United Arab Emirates at 73.3%. The estimate measures AI use visible to Microsoft and is least reliable where its platform share is low.
Governance readiness
6 of 10 points on a five-dimension rubric recording how much machinery exists to govern AI, not how strict it is. 4 of 31 nationally coded jurisdictions score higher and 4 score the same. AI Governance Readiness Index This site Our own editorial coding from primary legal sources, not an objective measurement. Every score cites a specific instrument and article. "Readiness" means the machinery exists to govern AI. It is emphatically not a judgement that the resulting rules are good, proportionate, or well enforced. Cite AI Safety Tracker, "AI Governance Readiness Index". https://aisafetytracker.org/methodology/governance-readiness/. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
| Dimension | Score | What the score records |
|---|---|---|
| Binding law | 1 of 3 | Sectoral or partial rules only. |
| Oversight body | 1 of 2 | A coordinating or advisory body. |
| Evaluation capacity | 2 of 2 | An operating safety or evaluation institute. |
| Transparency duty | 1 of 2 | A general data-protection route only. |
| Strategy | 1 of 1 | A published national AI strategy. |
Deliberately has no horizontal AI statute. The 2023 white paper puts five principles into the hands of existing regulators, so binding duties arrive through sector law rather than AI law. The AI Security Institute, renamed from the AI Safety Institute in February 2025, is among the best resourced evaluation bodies anywhere. Automated-decision rights run through UK GDPR. Cited for the score: A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation (2023), AI Security Institute (2023), Online Safety Act 2023 (2023).
Data: the AI Governance Readiness Index. Against AI use in every jurisdiction: exposure against governance readiness
AI datacentres and compute
1 AI datacentre site in Epoch AI's hub in the United Kingdom, by the IT power planned at the last stage of each site's timeline, with the power operating now. AI Data Centers Epoch AI The largest AI sites Epoch has found, mostly in the United States. Epoch estimated in September 2026 that they hold 44% of the world's deployed AI compute, with a 90% interval of 23% to 81%. Power, compute and cost are Epoch's estimates from satellite imagery, permits and company statements; four in five IT power estimates fall within a factor of 1.4 of the true value. The owner is the owner of the chips, not necessarily of the building. Capacity after the date of retrieval is Epoch's projection. Coordinates are read from the hub's map page, which publishes them; the downloads do not. Cite Epoch AI, "AI Data Centers". https://epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
| Site | Planned IT power | Now | Relative magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Waltham Cross | 88 MW | 88 MW |
- 88 MW IT power operating at those sites now AI Data Centers Epoch AI The largest AI sites Epoch has found, mostly in the United States. Epoch estimated in September 2026 that they hold 44% of the world's deployed AI compute, with a 90% interval of 23% to 81%. Power, compute and cost are Epoch's estimates from satellite imagery, permits and company statements; four in five IT power estimates fall within a factor of 1.4 of the true value. The owner is the owner of the chips, not necessarily of the building. Capacity after the date of retrieval is Epoch's projection. Coordinates are read from the hub's map page, which publishes them; the downloads do not. Cite Epoch AI, "AI Data Centers". https://epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
- 124,000 H100 equivalents of compute at that site AI Data Centers Epoch AI The largest AI sites Epoch has found, mostly in the United States. Epoch estimated in September 2026 that they hold 44% of the world's deployed AI compute, with a 90% interval of 23% to 81%. Power, compute and cost are Epoch's estimates from satellite imagery, permits and company statements; four in five IT power estimates fall within a factor of 1.4 of the true value. The owner is the owner of the chips, not necessarily of the building. Capacity after the date of retrieval is Epoch's projection. Coordinates are read from the hub's map page, which publishes them; the downloads do not. Cite Epoch AI, "AI Data Centers". https://epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
- 6 GPU clusters in Epoch AI's cluster records, 12 MW of known power GPU Clusters Epoch AI Compiled from public reporting; each row carries a certainty flag ranging from confirmed to speculative. Chinese clusters are systematically less well documented than US ones, so country totals understate opacity as much as they measure capacity. Cite Epoch AI, "GPU Clusters". https://epoch.ai/data/gpu-clusters. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
Hub power and compute are Epoch's estimates, and planned power is its projection from permits and announcements. Epoch's cluster records are a separate compilation, not reconciled with the hub, and count power only where it is known.
Data: Epoch AI
Notable models
89 models in Epoch AI's notable models list with an organisation in the United Kingdom among their developers, 38 of them from academic groups and 1 published since January 2025. The largest training compute recorded for any of them is 6.3e23 FLOP, for Gopher (280B). Notable AI Models Epoch AI Inclusion is editorial ("notability criteria"), not exhaustive. Compute figures are frequently estimates; check the per-row confidence and notes columns before treating any value as measured. Cite Epoch AI, "Notable AI Models". https://epoch.ai/data/ai-models. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
| Year | Models | Relative magnitude | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Organisation | Models | Relative magnitude | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepMind | 44 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| University of Oxford | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| University College London (UCL) | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| University of Edinburgh | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alan Turing Institute | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stability AI | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| University of Cambridge | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| University of Warwick | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| University of West London | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| InstaDeep | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Show the remaining 7
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Notability is Epoch AI's editorial judgement, not a census. Organisations are named as Epoch names them, so one company can appear under several names.
Data: Epoch AI, Notable AI Models
Frontier developers
The developers in the Frontier Safety Framework Index with notable models Epoch AI credits to an organisation in the United Kingdom. None is based in the United Kingdom. A developer is based where most of its credited models were built. Notable AI Models Epoch AI Inclusion is editorial ("notability criteria"), not exhaustive. Compute figures are frequently estimates; check the per-row confidence and notes columns before treating any value as measured. Cite Epoch AI, "Notable AI Models". https://epoch.ai/data/ai-models. Retrieved 18 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/. Release Safety Disclosure Index This site Our own reading of the system card, model card or safety report each developer published for each release Epoch AI lists from 2025, joined to Epoch's list. Every cell is what a developer says about its own model under its own framework: whether a card came out with the release, whether it reports dangerous-capability results, which government institutes it names as pre-release testers, and whether it says a risk threshold was reached. None of it is verified. A release Epoch adds after the last review is shown as awaiting review. Cite AI Safety Tracker, "Release Safety Disclosure Index". https://aisafetytracker.org/alignment/#releases. Retrieved 18 October 2026. Notable AI Models Epoch AI Inclusion is editorial ("notability criteria"), not exhaustive. Compute figures are frequently estimates; check the per-row confidence and notes columns before treating any value as measured. Cite Epoch AI, "Notable AI Models". https://epoch.ai/data/ai-models. Retrieved 18 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
| Developer | Models credited here | Of all its models | Based in | Card on the day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google DeepMind | 44 | 217 | United States | 6 of 8 |
Models are credited where Epoch's organisations and countries pair up, so a model whose two lists do not line up is not credited anywhere here. Card on the day counts releases since January 2025 in the Release Safety Disclosure Index, each the developer's own statement.
Data: Epoch AI, Notable AI Models, and the Release Safety Disclosure Index
Official publications
12 publications on AI from UK government feeds in the news feed's 120-day window, the latest 6 below, from 1 publisher in all. Headline and a short extract, each linking to the publisher. GOV.UK news and communications UK Government Keyword-filtered search feed, so relevance varies. Departmental press releases are political communications, not neutral descriptions of policy. Cite UK Government, "GOV.UK news and communications". https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
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AI sovereignty: preserving UK agency in an AI-enabled world
This letter provides advice to the Minister for AI on how the UK can build capability to make strategic choices about current and future AI technology
GOV.UK GOV.UK news and communications UK Government Keyword-filtered search feed, so relevance varies. Departmental press releases are political communications, not neutral descriptions of policy. Cite UK Government, "GOV.UK news and communications". https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
- AI Progress capability
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Building a Safer, More Secure Britain in the age of AI
Speech delivered by the Minister for Artificial Intelligence …
GOV.UK GOV.UK news and communications UK Government Keyword-filtered search feed, so relevance varies. Departmental press releases are political communications, not neutral descriptions of policy. Cite UK Government, "GOV.UK news and communications". https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
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Britain steps up national defences against growing AI risks
Britain will be better protected from the risks posed by increasingly powerful AI by a suite of measures
GOV.UK GOV.UK news and communications UK Government Keyword-filtered search feed, so relevance varies. Departmental press releases are political communications, not neutral descriptions of policy. Cite UK Government, "GOV.UK news and communications". https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
- AI Safety risks
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100 new UK jobs created as Kuwait buys British-made AI-enabled air defence systems
British jobs and skills will be boosted by a £370 million deal as Kuwait buys vital air defence systems from a UK-based business
GOV.UK GOV.UK news and communications UK Government Keyword-filtered search feed, so relevance varies. Departmental press releases are political communications, not neutral descriptions of policy. Cite UK Government, "GOV.UK news and communications". https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
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Government backs recommendations of NHS doctors-led AI Commission
Ministers back independent Commission's blueprint in full, while the MHRA's AI Airlock opens its next phase
GOV.UK GOV.UK news and communications UK Government Keyword-filtered search feed, so relevance varies. Departmental press releases are political communications, not neutral descriptions of policy. Cite UK Government, "GOV.UK news and communications". https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
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Foreign Secretary Address to the UNSC on Artificial Intelligence
Foreign Secretary address on artificial intelligence and international security - United Nations Security Council
GOV.UK GOV.UK news and communications UK Government Keyword-filtered search feed, so relevance varies. Departmental press releases are political communications, not neutral descriptions of policy. Cite UK Government, "GOV.UK news and communications". https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications. Retrieved 28 October 2026 via AI Safety Tracker, https://aisafetytracker.org/united-kingdom/.
Data: government feeds, filed by keyword rule
Not covered
- Depth of the law index. It holds 7 instruments for the United Kingdom and 28 for Australia, which was indexed first and in more depth, so the counts are not a comparison.
- Enterprise use of AI. The enterprise survey on AI adoption is Eurostat's and covers Europe.
- AI datacentres outside Epoch AI's hub. The AI Datacentre Index, which records sites from developers' statements, covers Australia only.
- Law made by the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The law index holds Acts of the UK Parliament and UK government instruments only.
- Electricity, emissions and water at UK datacentres. No indexed source publishes them per site.