Welcome to this issue of The AI Brief!
This month, an Accenture study confirmed that UK businesses are leading Europe in AI adoption. This is not a coincidence. It’s a direct result of significant investment from global tech giants and a push to create new innovation hubs outside London. In this issue, we’ll explore what this leadership means for your business, and provide a practical review of two major AI platforms to help you navigate this exciting new chapter
The National Picture
This month has seen rapid developments across the UK’s AI landscape, from business adoption to government policy.
Overview
- UK firms lead Europe in AI adoption and continue to attract major investment.
- New regional AI hubs are emerging, with billions in public and private funding.
- A principles-based approach to regulation is being pursued, with a focus on copyright and a potential AI Authority
UK-based multinationals continue to lead Europe in AI adoption, with 49% of large UK firms having scaled a strategic AI initiative. In the past month, London and the North East have emerged as major AI hubs. The launch of an “AI Growth Zone” in Northeast England, supported by public and private investment, is set to create 5,000+ new jobs and attract more than £30 billion in investment. Meanwhile, a £31 billion UK-US tech deal further underlines the country’s international competitiveness.
Salesforce announced a further $2 billion (£1.4bn) UK investment to build an AI hub, joining Microsoft, who has committed $30 billion to expand AI infrastructure and data centres, directly supporting enterprises such as Barclays, Vodafone, and the London Stock Exchange Group. Barclays has rolled out Copilot to 100,000 employees, targeting efficiency and data-driven decision-making.
On the regulatory front, the UK government continues to pursue a principles-based approach over sweeping legislation, emphasizing safety, transparency and accountability in AI deployments. A consultation is underway to clarify AI’s use of copyrighted content, directly impacting creative industries, and policy updates signal movement toward an AI Authority if Parliament advances new regulating bills this autumn
89% of surveyed firms intend to use AI for key problems over the next two years. –Tech Radar
The Takeaway 🚀
While the UK continues to lead Europe in AI adoption, significant investment and clear government policies are driving growth in new hubs outside of London. The focus is on business-led adoption and collaboration, with major firms setting the pace. This shift indicates a maturing AI ecosystem ready to scale.
Here’s a comparative review of two major AI platforms: Google Vertex AI and Amazon Bedrock. Both provide a managed service for accessing and deploying large language models, but they cater to different business needs and technical preferences.
Tool Comparison: Google Vertex AI vs. Amazon Bedrock 🤝
Overview
Google Vertex AI is a comprehensive toolkit for building AI from the ground up, with a focus on an end-to-end workflow for custom development.
Amazon Bedrock is a gateway to pre-built AI, simplifying access to various models for rapid experimentation and integration.
Key Takeaways
- Value & Features:
- Google Vertex AI: Its key value is a unified, end-to-end workflow for building and deploying AI. Features like AutoML allow even non-technical users to build models without code. It provides powerful tools for custom model training, a wide variety of APIs and a strong focus on transparency and explainability in models.
- Amazon Bedrock: Its primary value is flexibility and simplicity. It gives you access to a curated selection of leading models from multiple providers through a single API (a way for different software to talk to each other), so you are not locked into one vendor. It is a serverless platform, which removes the need for infrastructure management, and it integrates seamlessly with the wider AWS ecosystem.
- Price Point:
- Google Vertex AI: Primarily uses a pay-as-you-go model based on the number of tokens processed. This is highly flexible, with optional long-term commitments for discounts.
- Amazon Bedrock: Offers both a pay-as-you-go model and “Provisioned Throughput,” which allows you to reserve dedicated capacity for a fixed hourly price. The latter is a good option for predictable, high-volume workloads.
The Bottom Line ✅: The choice ultimately comes down to your existing technology and business goals. For businesses heavily invested in AWS, Bedrock provides simpler implementation and deep integrations. For those who need more control and flexibility for custom, end-to-end AI development, Google Vertex AI is a better fit.
Quick Review: Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 💻
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is an AI-powered assistant that works across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and Outlook. It’s designed to automate tasks, summarise information and help businesses become more productive.
Key Takeaways
- Value & Features: Copilot boosts productivity by automating tasks within the Microsoft 365 apps your team already uses. Its major strength is its deep integration across the entire Microsoft ecosystem, which allows it to pull context and information from your emails, documents and meetings to give more relevant answers.
- Price Point: It is a paid add-on costing approximately £24.70 per user per month, billed annually. It requires an existing Microsoft 365 Business, Business Premium or Enterprise plan.
- Impact on Your Business: This tool frees up employee time from repetitive tasks for more strategic work. It can also improve the quality of work by helping to create better first drafts and summaries faster.
Events & Opportunities
Upcoming Events & Conferences 📅
- CogX Summit London
- Date: 25 September 2025
- Location: London
- Cost: Passes from £350
- A major flagship AI conference with streams on applied AI, policy, and business transformation.
- Women in Tech Week
- Date: 13–17 October 2025
- Location: London and across the UK
- Cost: Varies, with many free events
- A nationwide initiative supporting and empowering women in the tech industry with inspiring panels and networking.
Educational Programs
- Imperial College London: Professional Certificate in Machine Learning & AI
- Cost: Starts from £4,199
- Details: 25-week online program
- Start Date: 16 October 2025
- This course provides advanced technical expertise in machine learning and AI for business professionals.
- UK Government Skills Bootcamp: AI for Professionals
- Cost: Free for eligible individuals; employers may need to contribute.
- Details: Varying course lengths and specialisms.
- There are many government-backed Skills Bootcamps available, offered by various training providers across the UK. Examples include courses on machine learning, data analytics, and digital marketing.
What’s Next? 💡
This issue shows that UK businesses are no longer on the side-lines of the AI boom. With billions in investment and two of the world’s largest tech companies competing for your business, the question is no longer “if” you should use AI, but “how” you will implement it at scale.
Start by evaluating your existing technology.
Do you use Microsoft 365 or are you building on AWS or Google Cloud? The platforms you’re already using are likely the best place to start.
Define Your Problem, Not the Tech: Pinpoint your biggest pain points. Are you spending too much time on admin tasks? Are customer inquiries going unanswered? Identifying these specific challenges first will help you choose the right tool for the job.
Start Small and Test: Don’t feel pressured to adopt a massive, enterprise-level solution all at once. For smaller businesses and sole traders, the most effective approach is to start with a single, low-cost tool that solves one specific problem.
Have the Right Conversation: For those with a team, the time for exploration is over – the time for strategic planning has begun. Instead of asking “What AI should we use?” ask “How can AI help us solve problem X?” This simple shift will get everyone aligned and focused on tangible results.