From two weeks to two hours: How AI might reboot Britain’s economy

LONDON –

When accountants at mid-tier firm Moore Kingston Smith began using artificial intelligence to speed up their work, profit margins jumped.

Colleagues in another team running checks against corporate fraud created a report for customers in two hours, something that previously took two weeks.

The rollout of AI is raising hopes that Britain’s economy can escape the productivity problem that has dogged it for two decades, even as slow growth pushes finance minister Rachel Reeves toward tax hikes in Wednesday’s budget.