Nearly Half of UK Businesses Say They Use AI, Though Nobody Will Say Who Counted

A number doing the rounds in 2025 claims 45% of UK businesses have adopted AI, most of them only in the last year, though nobody attached to the figure seems keen to say where it came from. This includes practices like yours, at least on paper.

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Practices weighing up whether AI is worth the bother are being pointed at a stat that sounds terribly precise and turns out to belong to nobody in particular.

Original ResearchA claim that almost half of British businesses have started using AI, with bigger firms moving faster and most adopters only starting within the year
Sourcehttps://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/our-work/publications/
OverviewThe Enterprise Research Centre publishes ongoing work on small business trends, but this particular AI adoption figure isn't tied to any named report, survey, or sample on their site.
Year2025
PublisherAcademic, Enterprise Research Centre (specific figure unattributed)
Relevance to WellbeingThe 45% figure is about UK businesses generally, not wellbeing practices specifically, so it's background noise rather than something to quote to clients.
Our VerdictToo early to tell a nice round number with no visible working, which is a polite way of saying it can't be checked.
Our Summary
  • It fits the general mood, that AI use is spreading fast among small firms, which tallies with other adoption data going around.
  • There's no named survey, no sample size, and no methodology, just a figure sitting on a page.
  • It's about UK businesses in general, not wellbeing practices, so it can't be used as evidence about your sector specifically.
  • The "most started in the past year" detail is useful shorthand for how new this all is, even if the exact number is shaky.
Our Geo ViewUK-specific claim; treat as UK context only and don't assume it transfers to other markets.
Abstract of wellbeing niches and revenue flow
Recognise how this might impact your practice

Why this might matter to you

  • Coaching: this matters because clients will assume you're already using AI for scheduling and notes, whether or not the 45% figure is real.
  • Therapy: this matters because the general drift towards AI adoption raises questions about client confidentiality that no vague statistic will answer for you.
  • Training: this matters because trainers marketing themselves as forward-thinking need a claim they can actually stand behind, not one borrowed from an uncredited chart.
  • Alternative Healing: this matters because practices built on trust and presence should be wary of parroting numbers nobody can verify.
  • Clinical: this matters because clinical practices are held to a higher evidential standard, and an unsourced 45% won't survive a raised eyebrow.
  • Retreat/Centre: this matters because centres often lean on "industry trend" language in brochures, and this particular trend has no visible source to point to.

Where this came from

A claim about UK business AI uptake, attached loosely to the Enterprise Research Centre's publications page, though not to any specific report they've put their name to.

Enterprise Research Centre, publications listing, 2025. No individual study, author, or publish date accompanies the figure itself.

Credibility flags: methodology not disclosed, sample size not disclosed, publisher type unclear beyond a general academic-adjacent research centre.

How we scored this

A relevance score out of 100, built from three things: how well it fits the six practice types, how recent it is, and how solid the methodology behind it is.

40%
Practice fit, 25How new, 100How solid, 0

Marked down heavily on how solid the method is, since there isn't one on show, though it scores well on recency and only modestly on practice fit given it's about businesses in general, not wellbeing specifically.

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It's worth considering changes to your marketing practices

What this means for your marketing

  • Leave the 45% figure out of your marketing entirely, it won't survive a follow-up question.
  • If you want to talk about AI adoption, use a source you can actually link to.
  • Say plainly to clients that you use AI for admin, not diagnosis or judgement, before they ask.
  • Brief your team not to repeat "nearly half of businesses" style claims they've picked up from a LinkedIn post.
  • Keep a note of which AI-adoption stats in your files are properly sourced and which are just floating about.

Who this is most useful for

Practice typeRelevanceRecommended action
CoachingLowSkip the stat, focus on your own AI use in plain terms
TherapyLowAddress confidentiality directly rather than citing adoption rates
TrainingMediumUse only sourced adoption figures if positioning as tech-forward
Alternative HealingLowAvoid borrowing unverified stats to sound current
ClinicalLowDo not cite; find a peer-reviewed or government figure instead
Retreat/CentreLowDrop from brochure copy until a named source turns up

Best before

Best before: revisit if the Enterprise Research Centre publishes a named report backing this figure, and check back via Enterprise Research Centre publications before quoting it anywhere client-facing.

What next?

Every practice has that moment of wanting to sound current, and reaching for a tidy statistic nobody can actually check is how that goes wrong.

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