Hi there,
Most businesses are waiting for their AI moment. The big one. The transformation. The week everything changes and the whole company suddenly works differently.
That moment is not coming. Not like that.
The businesses actually getting value from AI did not transform anything. They picked one small thing, made it work, then picked the next. This week is about what that first small thing actually looks like.
This week in AI
New research from OpenAI and Enterprise Nation put a number on the upside. UK businesses using AI are saving 5.2 hours a week per decision-maker. Over half a working day, every week. Not from some grand transformation. From ordinary tools doing ordinary tasks.
The benefits people reported were not exotic either. Time saved came top at 45%, then fewer errors at 34% and lower running costs at 24%. The everyday stuff. Drafting, summarising, first attempts at things that used to start from a blank page.
Here is the catch. That gain is not evenly shared. A fifth of UK businesses still use no AI at all, rising to 37% of sole traders and 25% of micro businesses. London sits at 93% adoption while Yorkshire, the South West and Scotland hover around 75%. And 40% of decision-makers over 55 are not using it, against just 8% of those under 35.
The single biggest reason given by the businesses not using it? A lack of training and skills. The prize is real and it is sitting right there. What unlocks it is not a bigger budget. It is knowing how to start.
The practical bit
Pick Your First Win
Forget the strategy for a week. This is about one task, done once, to prove to yourself the time saving is real.
- Pick the task you quietly dislike.
The weekly report nobody reads. The first draft you always put off. The inbox triage on a Monday. Something that is mostly words or data, that you do every week, that you would happily never do again.
- Time how long it normally takes.
Roughly is fine. You just need a before number to compare against.
- Hand it to AI once this week.
Tell it what you want, give it the context, let it have a go. Treat it like a junior colleague, not a magic button. Then do the human pass at the end to make it yours.
It will not be perfect first time. That is not the point. The point is you will have started, and you will have a real number for what one task saved. That is your first win. The next one comes easier.
Go deeper
12 things I’ve learned about AI adoption
Once you have your first win, this is what the next stretch teaches you. Field notes from client sessions and training rooms, the honest version.
What’s on
The sessions below ran in May 2026. For what is coming up, see upcoming events.
Both events are moving to July.
We had Build Along and The AI Foundry Live set for 4 June. With tube strikes planned for that week, getting across London will be a nightmare for too many of you, so we are moving both rather than make you fight the Underground to get here.
New date being confirmed now. Subscribers hear first.
Build Along with AI
Thursday 4 June · 9:00am to 12:30pm · White City, London
Moving to July, new date to be confirmed
Get your AI Strategy built out before lunchtime. Hands-on and interactive workshop.
The AI Foundry Live
Thursday 4 June · 1:30pm to 4:30pm · White City, London
Moving to July, new date to be confirmed
Our quarterly free live event. Two short talks from guest speakers, then time to compare notes with other UK business owners over an afternoon coffee.
With guest speakers
Hannah Morris
Let’s Trailblaze
Mahdi Sharif
Humble AI
Join the free Foundry community
Peer discussion, weekly resources and first access to events and sessions. No fee, no pitch.
Half a day a week. That is the prize on the table.
New research this week put a number on it. The businesses using AI well are getting back 5.2 hours a week per person. Over half a working day, every week, handed back to you. Not from some grand transformation. From ordinary tools doing ordinary tasks.
Here is what I want you to notice though. That number is an average of the people who actually use it. The same research found a fifth of businesses still using no AI at all, and the gap is widest among the smallest businesses and the ones who waited. The prize is real. It is just not being shared evenly, and the people missing out are mostly the ones who keep meaning to start and never quite do.
So this is the week to start. Not with a strategy. Not with a six-month plan. With one task.
Pick the thing you do every week that you quietly dislike. The report nobody reads that still takes you an hour. The first draft you always struggle to begin. The inbox triage on a Monday morning. Hand that one task to AI this week and see what comes back. It will not be perfect. That is not the point. The point is you will have started, and starting is the thing almost nobody does.
One task. One win. That is how every business that is ahead on this got there. Not in one leap. One task at a time.
If you want help picking the task and building from there, that is exactly what we do when we run Build Along. The next one is coming in July.
Hit reply and tell me which task you picked. We read every one.
Know someone still waiting for their big AI moment? Forward this on. That’s how this list grows.
Understand first. Then act.
Richard