New data from Insight highlights a persistent gap between confidence in artificial intelligence and its actual scale of deployment across EMEA organisations. While businesses express high trust in AI capabilities, few have succeeded in moving the technology from pilots to broad implementation.

Confidence levels

The report shows that 57% of organisations are ‘very confident’ in AI’s reliability when used for core business processes. In the UK, 9% of organisations report having fully embedded AI in their operations, leading Europe on this metric. However, despite positive attitudes, the majority of UK businesses-70%-have yet to progress beyond small-scale pilot programmes. Across EMEA, only 5% of organisations report full AI integration, while 24% say they use AI in production for limited, well-defined use cases.

“While it is encouraging to see that 9% of UK organisations have fully embedded AI into their operations – the highest in Europe – this also underscores the urgent need for companies to move beyond pilot phases. The UK has the potential to lead the way in strategic AI adoption, but realising this potential requires a concerted effort to overcome the operational hurdles that currently impede progress. By embracing AI as a core component of their strategies, and grounding AI in business reality, UK organisations can unlock significant efficiencies and drive innovation,” said Santo Orlando, Practise Director, Insight.

Barriers to adoption

The survey indicates that lack of trust in AI is not the principal obstacle. Only 1% of IT decision-makers cited confidence issues with AI as a reason for not progressing. Instead, the leading challenges are operational and organisational. Technology integration difficulties were noted by 36% of respondents, followed by a shortage of skills for managing AI (23%), cultural resistance to the technology (17%), and gaps in governance and compliance frameworks (14%).

Most organisations in Europe remain at an early stage in their AI transformation journey, often restricted to exploratory, awareness, or pilot testing phases. This points to a clear divide between the perceived potential of AI and its real-world application within business operations.

Infrastructure preferences

The survey also reveals a split in infrastructure strategies. Over half of respondents (52%) favour cloud-based AI deployments, with 16% showing a particularly strong preference. However, 44% prefer on-premises deployment, mainly due to concerns over control, compliance, and performance. Managing a mix of cloud and on-premises solutions introduces further complexity that many businesses appear ill-equipped to navigate at present.

Calls for strategic approach

“This research captures the general excitement about AI’s transformational potential, but also the challenges in successful implementation. There are limited outcomes from taking a technology led approach and just giving tools to teammates and hoping something will happen. More strategic transformations are often stuck in pilot phases,” said Adrian Gregory, EMEA President, Insight.

“As the leading AI Solutions Integrator, we believe it starts with business understanding together with AI Forward Deployed Engineers to build rapid working prototypes in a handful of days along with use case priority backlog, a full implementation plan and a business case for ROI. Businesses need partners that don’t just offer technical expertise but provide strategic guidance on integration and accountability frameworks to help them implement AI responsibly and effectively. This is even more critical when we consider that only half of respondents reported having clear frameworks.”