Is the UK ready to trust Generative AI?

GenAI users in the UK are generally bullish about its potential, with 61 per cent of users agreeing that effective use of the technology by businesses and individuals in the UK will benefit society. The survey also shows that GenAI users in the UK are optimistic that GenAI can help businesses improve their products and services (71%) and create better work experiences for employees (70%). Those based in the UK who are aware of GenAI but do not use the technology are markedly less positive, less than half (46%) believe that GenAI can help businesses improve their products and services while only 36 per cent believe GenAI can create better work experiences for employees. This data aligns with the trends observed in the broader European data.

This difference in opinion between users and non-users might be attributed to the ‘repeated moments of joy’ experienced by GenAI users, where repeated use of GenAI tools create a fuller recognition of its benefits. This contrasts with non-users, whose lack of experiential familiarity likely contributes to a more limited understanding of GenAI’s potential advantages. In the absence of direct experience with GenAI tools, opinion is likely driven by second hand sources like the news and other forms of media.

While UK GenAI users share a similar level of optimism with their Continental European counterparts regarding the potential effects of GenAI, notable differences exist in the degree of trust placed in the technology. Respondents in the survey were presented with several hypothetical scenarios. Broadly, the scenarios can be split into two categories. The first set comprises personal use case scenarios – where the user is actively engaging with the generative AI themselves. The second set of scenarios are relevant to organisations using GenAI within their operations. The survey shows that consumers tend to be more trusting of the results produced by GenAI when the technology is in their own hands rather than in those of organisations.³ Consumers are also more trusting in scenarios that are deemed lower risk – analysis of the survey results show a negative correlation between the perceived criticality of the scenario and the level of trust exhibited by the participants.⁴

In both personal and organisational use scenarios, UK GenAI users place a higher degree of trust in generative AI than their European counterparts. For personal scenarios, UK users of GenAI who are more likely to trust its results for recommending insurance companies based on previous claims history (64% UK vs 57% Europe), recommending financial products tailored to your needs (64% UK vs 54% Europe), and providing advice that directs you to the right medical care (57% UK vs 50% Europe).

Similarly, UK respondents are slightly more likely to trust the results of generative AI than the overall Continental European sample, when it is in the hands of organisations. For example, they are more likely to trust its results for banks to assess their eligibility to obtain financial credit (56% UK vs 51% Europe), and insurance companies using GenAI to determine the cost of insurance policies by taking into account an individual’s financial risk profile (57% UK vs 54% Europe). Interestingly, there are no scenarios – for personal or organisational use - in which UK GenAI users are less trusting of GenAI than their European counterparts.

Greater trust in generative AI is mirrored by higher usage rates at work by UK respondents, who are more likely to use GenAI for creating presentations (26% UK vs 19% Europe), agenda planning (23% UK vs 17% Europe), transcribing meeting notes (23% UK vs 16% Europe) and creating video content (19% UK vs 13% Europe).

UK respondents who are aware and use GenAI report similar familiarity with ChatGPT as their European counterparts (88% UK vs 87% Europe), but report significantly greater awareness of other GenAI tools, such as Microsoft copilot (51% UK vs 35% Europe), Google Gemini (49% vs 38% Europe) and Snapchat ‘My AI’ (47% UK vs 31% Europe).

UK generative AI users balance trust with caution

What do higher levels of trust and usage mean for how UK consumers feel about the risks of GenAI? In short, and perhaps counterintuitively, UK users of GenAI have more pronounced concerns compared to European users. These concerns fall across a range of different domains. UK users are more likely have concerns relative to data and security. For example, UK GenAI users are more concerned about data privacy (68% UK vs 61% Europe) and security risks (67% UK vs 60% Europe), and intellectual property rights (60% UK vs 53% Europe) as compared to their European counterparts.

UK users also have greater concern over risks pertaining to accuracy – for example, the risk of users making decisions based on inaccurate results (67% UK vs 60% Europe) and making decisions based on biased results (63% UK vs 56% Europe). The greater perception of risk extends to the socioeconomic impact of GenAI, with users in the UK more likely to cite job redundancies (58% UK vs 52% Europe) and an increase in inequality (53% UK vs 46% Europe) as concerns. Although UK users demonstrate a higher level of concern regarding the risks associated with GenAI compared to their European counterparts, a distinct portion of users do not share these concerns, highlighting a disparity in risk perception.

The trust and concern paradox

This paradox of UK consumers simultaneously being more trusting and more concerned by GenAI than their Continental European counterparts can perhaps be explained by greater experience or maturity in using GenAI. The survey reveals that, of those who use GenAI in the UK, 27 per cent use GenAI at least once a day for work purposes and 18 per cent for personal purposes, as compared to 20 per cent and 12 per cent in Europe respectively. It is also reported that the UK has the greatest number of GenAI start-ups in Europe – double that of the second fastest adopter, Germany.⁵ As UK organisations and employees have adopted GenAI into their operations faster than the European average, those in the UK have likely had greater exposure to the technology. With exposure to GenAI in practical scenarios, users become more familiar with the benefits of the technology. However, while becoming aware of the benefits of the technology, frequent exposure to GenAI may also sensitive users to its flaws.

A second reason that people in the UK may be more aware of the potential risks of GenAI, is the education they receive in the workplace. In the UK, 58 per cent of employees using GenAI tools agree that their organisation is transparent about the impact of GenAI on their role, compared to 51 per cent of Europeans. Transparency is essential as it allows organisations to capitalise on the benefits of GenAI, while making their staff cognisant of the risks. While concern over the risks of generative may be expected to reduce trust levels, the data suggests not. 

The combination of simultaneously being more open to the opportunities of GenAI while also being more concerned about the dangers, may read as paradoxical, but is likely to be of benefit to our society and organisations. Being open to adopting GenAI and having trust in its benefits allows for the adoption of the technology which comes with many potential benefits – both for employees and customers. At the same time, concerns over inaccurate or biased results, data privacy and security risks are not unfounded, and maintaining a degree of criticality over the technology is healthy. Users of GenAI should ensure that their understanding of the risks associated with the technology is appropriately reflected in their practices when engaging with the technology.

Trusting the technology enough to use it, while maintaining awareness of the risks, can help to form an environment where the benefits are maximised and harms minimised. Organisations should strive to create an environment where employees can safely use GenAI. This includes putting the right controls and guardrails in place, ensuring proper training and providing access to sanctioned tools. Equally, organisations need to ensure they transparently communicate how they will use GenAI to build and maintain trust with stakeholders, to fully harness the potential of the technology.

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