Artificial intelligence is delivering clear productivity and financial gains for UK organisations, according to new research from the Association for Project Management (APM).
A survey of 500 senior business leaders, conducted by APM with Censuswide, found that 44% report a positive impact on their bottom line from AI, compared with just 20% who have seen a negative effect.
Productivity improvements are also being widely felt. 43% of leaders say AI is enhancing productivity across their organisation or parts of it, while only 13% report a decline. A further 18% remain uncertain about its effects.
Strongest Gains in Technology and Financial Services
The productivity boost is most pronounced in the Technology sector, where 56% of leaders say AI is improving performance. Other sectors also report significant gains:
Leaders seeing a positive productivity impact:
- Technology (56%)
- Financial Services (54%)
- Energy (50%)
- Central/Local Government (44%)
- Manufacturing (42%)
- Transport and Logistics (40%)
- Healthcare (40%)
- Engineering (40%)
- Aerospace and Defence (38%)
- Construction (28%)
Technology leaders also report the strongest financial returns, with 71% citing a positive impact on profitability.
Leaders seeing a positive bottom-line impact:
- Technology (71%)
- Manufacturing (51%)
- Healthcare (51%)
- Financial Services (50%)
- Transport and Logistics (49%)
- Construction (48%)
- Central/Local Government (38%)
- Energy (31%)
- Engineering (29%)
- Aerospace and Defence (20%)
Among those who have seen productivity gains, the areas benefitting most are IT (15%), Finance/Accounting (14%), and Research and Development and Customer Service (both 12%).
Barriers for Organisations Seeing Negative Impacts
For the minority reporting declining productivity, the most common issues include:
- Overly broad scope (12%)
- Failure to apply lessons from previous implementations (11%)
- Integration challenges (10%)
- Lack of internal skills or budget for support (10%)
‘AI Is Now a Material Driver of Success’
Professor Adam Boddison OBE, Chief Executive of APM, said: “It’s extremely encouraging to see almost all business leaders engaging with AI and, crucially, translating that investment into real-world productivity and financial gains.
“The data confirms that AI is not just a futuristic aspiration but a current, material driver of success for the UK project economy. This data underscores the need for project professionals to strategically embed AI in how projects are scoped, planned, and delivered to maximise these benefits.”
APM offers a wide range of professional development resources, including qualifications, networking opportunities and its AI and Data Analytics Interest Network, to support individuals and organisations looking to strengthen their project delivery capability.
