AI adoption is the point at which people use AI in their real work by default, rather than the point at which a licence is purchased. Most programmes stall in the gap between the two, because access was solved and capability, permission and habit were not.
Why it matters for a UK business
The tool working is the easy half. People using it, properly, on real work, is where most programmes stall, and they stall for human reasons far more often than technical ones.
What it looks like in practice
Adoption is measurable person by person, not guessed at department level. The gap between what a business could do with AI and what it does do is mostly capability and confidence, and it maps onto individuals.
What to do about it
Say out loud what the business intends to do about roles, because silence is heard as the worst answer. Train on the work people actually have. Give the first fortnight explicit permission to be slower. Put the capability where the work already is.
Related terms
Read next
AI adoption and the human factor → · All 22 terms in the glossary · The resource library
If this is the term that has come up in your business and you want it worked through against your own situation rather than in the abstract, that is a conversation, not a page.
Speak to ChrisWritten by Chris Duffy. Last reviewed .