Delivery must now be the focus of the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan in 2026
On Thursday 29 January, as part of a week-long series of announcements focused on AI, the Government published a one-year update on the AI Opportunities Action Plan. The update provides a comprehensive overview of the activity underway across skills, public services, compute, and supporting a thriving UK AI sector. It reinforces the scale of government intent, the seriousness with which AI is now being treated as a national priority, and the breadth of programmes now in motion.
techUK strongly welcomed the publication of the AI Opportunities Action Plan and similarly welcomes the one-year summary update. The following are some reflections on the key takeaways from the update:
Key takeaways from the Government update
The Government’s new delivery dashboard shows that 38 of the 50 commitments are marked as met, with particularly notable progress in foundational areas such as compute planning, AI Growth Zone designation, skills programmes and the establishment of new institutions like the Sovereign AI Unit.
These are important building blocks. The designation and resourcing of these major initiatives provide the foundation for the UK to seize the £550 billion AI opportunity at stake. The priority now is ensuring these foundations translate into operational delivery operational delivery and tangible impact across the economy and public services.
Many of the actions most closely tied to real-world impact — including scaling AI pilots nationally, embedding AI into day-to-day public service delivery, supporting SMEs to develop and adopt AI, and resolving regulatory uncertainty — are continuing to progress. These are also the areas where businesses consistently highlight need for support: skills, confidence, and integration capability.
This focus on delivery is especially important in light of the Government’s own AI adoption research published this week, which shows uptake across the UK economy remains cautious, uneven, and concentrated in narrow, off-the-shelf uses.
Taken together, the update also signals a clear transition into the next phase of the delivering on the UK’s AI potential. With many key initiatives now established, 2026 presents an opportunity to focus more sharply on delivery and adoption in practice – ensuring that these programmes move from commitment to impact at a pace that matches the rapidly evolving global AI landscape.
Looking ahead, the success of the AI Opportunities Action Plan will increasingly be measured not by the number of actions launched or completed on paper, but by whether AI is deployed at scale across the economy and public services. As reflected in discussions at techUK’s AI Vision to Value conference reflecting on a year on from the AI Opportunities Action Plan, 2026 is increasingly being seen as the year where delivery, adoption, and implementation come to the fore.
Stronger coordination between the Government’s many AI initiatives will also be increasingly important, helping to create a clearer flywheel between skills, infrastructure, adoption, and investment, and supporting regional AI ecosystems to thrive.
As the DSIT Secretary of State Liz Kendall noted in her speech when marking the Action Plan’s anniversary, the UK needs to keep its foot firmly on the accelerator. techUK agrees and believes that sustaining momentum will now depend on how delivery is implemented, scaled, and progressed at pace.
techUK’s perspective
The commitments met to date are important foundations for long-term growth, and techUK welcomes the clear signal that Government sees AI as central to economic competitiveness and public service reform. We see the next phase of seizing the AI opportunity as building upon these foundations and the progress already made to drive wider, more embedded adoption.
techUK remains committed to ensuring that the UK’s ambition turns into impact and that 2026 is the year of delivery. That is why we actively participated in this week’s announcements and have joined the Government’s AI Skills Partnership to help upskill 10 million workers with AI skills by 2030 as part of the AI Skills Boost programme. And we are continuing to work to build momentum for the skills, sector-readiness, and AI ecosystem the UK needs to truly seize the £550 billion AI opportunity.
Today’s summary update on the AI Opportunities Action Plan demonstrates the Government’s continued focus on laying the foundations for the UK’s success in AI. The breadth of activity across skills, public services, compute, and the wider ecosystem underlines the seriousness with which AI is being treated as a national priority. As we move into 2026, the emphasis should increasingly be on ensuring these commitments translate into delivery and adoption in practice - making sure initiatives like AI Growth Zones, the AI Skills partnership and other commitments work at pace and scale across the economy and are backed by an ecosystem and regulatory environment that keeps the UK competitive globally.
techUK - Seizing the AI Opportunity
The UK is a global leader in AI innovation, development and adoption.
AI has the potential to boost UK GDP by £550 billion by 2035, making adoption an urgent economic priority. techUK and our members are committed to working with the Government to turn the AI Opportunities Action Plan into reality. Together we can ensure the UK seizes the opportunities presented by AI technology and continues to be a world leader in AI development.
Get involved: techUK runs a busy calendar of activities including events, reports, and insights to demonstrate some of the most significant AI opportunities for the UK. Our AI Hub is where you will find details of all upcoming activity. We also send a monthly AI newsletter which you can subscribe to here.
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Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.
Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.
Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.
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Usman Ikhlaq
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale. His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.
Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.
Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech.
Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.
When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
Sue Daley OBE
Sue Daley OBE
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work. This includes work programmes on AI, Cloud, Data, Quantum, Semiconductors, Digital ID and Digital ethics as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy. In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List. She has also been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the tech agenda in the UK, in December 2025 Sue was appointed to the UK Government’s Women in Tech Taskforce by the Technology Secretary of State. She also sits on the UK Government’s Smart Data Council, Satellite Applications Catapult Advisory Group, Bank of England’s AI Consortium and BSI’s Digital Strategic Advisory Group. Previously, Sue was a member of the Independent Future of Compute Review and co-chaired the National Data Strategy Forum. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries in 2020, Sue has been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and has been a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI, the UK Tech 50 and annual UK Cloud Awards. She is a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015, Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. Before that, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
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