Businesses investing heavily in artificial intelligence are at risk of missing out on its full value, as new research reveals a widening gap between AI implementation and employee capability.

The study by QA, the UK’s leading AI technology and digital training partner, revealed that while AI tools are now common across organisations, 32% of employees have received no formal AI training, and only 15% receive ongoing or advanced support.

Advanced AI capability remains limited across the workforce. Only around 9% of employees consider themselves advanced or expert users, with most operating at a basic level. Around a quarter (24%) use AI only for simple, low-impact tasks such as drafting emails, summarising documents, producing meeting notes or rephrasing text.

This disconnect is already limiting business impact. Despite UK businesses investing £235,000 on average per company in AI and emerging tech, only 16% of employees report significant productivity gains, while a further one in ten say they could achieve more with AI but currently lack the training or support to do so.

The data also shows that AI implementation is uneven across the workforce, with technical roles in IT leading the way in advanced usage. Employees in roles such as administration, operations, customer service and sales are far more likely to use AI only for basic tasks or not at all, often due to lower confidence and lack of training.

This is creating a growing capability gap within organisations, where a small group are unlocking productivity and efficiency gains, while the majority are underutilising the technology. As a result, businesses risk focusing AI value in isolated teams rather than benefiting across the wider workforce.

To support these findings, Dr Vicky Crockett, portfolio director for AI at QA, is sharing their expertise on how organisations can move employees from basic AI use to high-impact applications that deliver measurable business value.

She said: “Before diving into a full AI transformation, organisations need to build basic AI and data literacy, so everyone feels confident using these tools. It’s also essential to provide role specific training, because AI impacts different jobs in different ways and a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work.

“By tailoring upskilling to individual roles, businesses can maximise the value AI brings to everyday tasks. Finally, developing internal AI champions helps create momentum, as early adopters can share insights and support colleagues as they adapt to new ways of working.”

Jo Bishenden, chief learning officer at QA, further commented: “AI is being adopted at pace, but too many organisations are still treating it as a technology rollout rather than a shift in people capability.

“There’s a growing gap between what AI is capable of and how it’s actually being used at work. As AI evolves towards more agentic models, value no longer comes from basic use or high-level guidance, but from equipping people with the skills, confidence and judgement to work effectively alongside these systems. 

“The organisations seeing the greatest productivity gains are those investing in capability building at scale – embedding AI skills into everyday roles and enabling their people to apply AI in ways that genuinely improve how work gets done.”

For more information on QA’s AI training and workforce upskilling programmes, please visit www.qa.com.

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