Agentic AI: A Pathway to Economic Growth and Enhanced Public Services
New research commissioned by Microsoft reveals a critical juncture for the UK: the potential to significantly boost economic growth and improve public services hinges on the effective adoption of agentic AI. The study, led by Dr. Chris Brauer at Goldsmiths, University of London, underscores that organizations with well-defined AI strategies are outperforming those without, creating what is described as an ‘AI divide’ across the UK economy.
The research, which surveyed 1,480 senior leaders and 1,440 employees across both public and private sectors, paints a clear picture: a significant portion of UK organizations are falling behind in the AI race. More than half (54%) of the leaders surveyed reported a lack of a formal AI strategy, and barely half (45%) understand the skills their workforce needs for AI success. This gap between ambition and action is further highlighted by the fact that over half (57%) of leaders report a growing productivity divide between AI users and non-users. Those who frequently use AI are also more likely to receive recognition or promotions within their organizations.
This comes at a time when the UK workforce is facing unprecedented workload pressures. Over half of employees (52%) and leaders (60%) report workloads exceeding what a single person could reasonably handle. For a considerable portion, the overwork is even more intense, with 36% of leaders and 25% of employees saying their workloads are the equivalent of doing at least two people’s jobs simultaneously.
The Urgent Call for Agentic AI
Recognizing these challenges, survey respondents identified an urgent need to integrate agentic AI technologies across all sectors. The aim is to alleviate some of the workload burden, overcome productivity barriers, and unlock new levels of growth. Despite agentic AI being a relatively new technology, nearly three-quarters (72%) of leaders expect its full integration within their operations, with a significant proportion (21%) anticipating this within the next 12 months, and another 39% within two years.
Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK, commented: “The scope and scale of the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan is an important foundation to drive growth, create jobs and improve living standards for all. Agentic AI can play a key role in removing digital drudgery, giving workers the opportunity to spend more time on creative and value adding tasks. At Microsoft, we’re helping to build an AI economy, investing in digital skills and tackling the AI divide, all pre-requisites to driving AI fuelled economic growth for the UK.”
Agentic AI encompasses a range of virtual tools designed to automate tasks or provide assistance. These include simple chatbots for information retrieval, tools like Copilots for workflow automation, and fully autonomous systems capable of learning, planning, and acting with minimal human intervention.
Secretary of State Peter Kyle emphasized the importance of AI in transforming how work gets done: “AI is transforming how we work. Through our AI Opportunities Action Plan, this government is backing businesses and workers to harness AI’s full potential – helping us unleash AI to improve public services and grow the economy as part of our Plan for Change. Agents will play a key role in this transformation, enabling organisations to work smarter, not harder. With over half of business leaders seeing a growing productivity gap between AI users and those yet to harness the technology, accelerating adoption is crucial. This report offers valuable insights for businesses ready to seize the moment.”
The research explored the specific areas where leaders hope to gain from integrating agentic AI, from efficiency and productivity gains to risk forecasting and fraud prevention. The Microsoft report, entitled “Agents of Change,” offers practical guidance to business and public sector leaders, proposing a Blueprint for Agentic Success based on the data insights from this comprehensive study.
Dr. Chris Brauer, Director of Innovation at Goldsmiths, University of London, stresses the customizable nature of each AI journey: “Every organisation’s AI journey is unique. Agentic AI has the potential to revolutionise operations, increase resilience, and free employees from many routine tasks – if organisations are front footed. There are steps high-, medium-, and low-performing organisations in both the public and private sectors can take today – and this report sets out the blueprint to do just that.”
