Four out of five UK business leaders have used generative AI (GenAI) as a business mentor at least once – with a quarter using it daily, according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by technology and solutions provider The Adaptavist Group, found a growing trend towards AI-supported mentorship in the absence of sufficient human guidance.
The study shows that 90 percent of UK business leaders believe there is a mentorship gap, driving many to seek advice and support from AI tools. Despite the increasing reliance on GenAI, 47 percent of those surveyed admitted they lack confidence in their self-taught AI skills.
The findings show that AI is now used more frequently than human mentors, with just 16 percent of leaders turning to a person for advice on a daily basis. A third (32%) said they had only received human mentorship once or twice, and a further 26 percent reported having received it a handful of times. While AI is playing an increasingly central role in business decision-making, it is also changing the way leaders approach learning and development.
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AI’s impact on operations and growth
The survey shows that AI is contributing to business success, with 59 percent of respondents stating that GenAI has improved operations and 35 percent reporting that it has already helped their business grow. Looking to the future, 62 percent of business leaders view AI as a worthwhile investment, and 82 percent believe it will help accelerate further growth.
However, the popularity of AI has not been matched by widespread training. Seventy percent of business leaders said they have had no formal training on using GenAI tools, with all their experience being self-taught. Additionally, 89 percent expressed a desire for more training to maximise the potential of AI in their businesses.
A significant number of respondents, 38 percent, said they would feel embarrassed to admit they do not know how to use AI tools, suggesting that AI competence is increasingly seen as a baseline skill for leadership.
Concerns about security, cost and ethics
While 62 percent of business leaders are using GenAI once a day or more, several barriers to adoption remain. Security concerns were identified as the top challenge, with 56 percent of respondents highlighting this as their main concern, likely influenced by reports of AI-related risks such as data harvesting, hallucinations and inaccuracies.
A quarter of respondents (23%) cited moral objections as a barrier to adoption, while 20 percent pointed to environmental concerns. Additionally, one third of those surveyed identified costs as a significant challenge, and 27 percent said that a lack of understanding about how to use AI effectively continues to hold them back.
Simon Haighton-Williams, CEO at The Adaptavist Group, commented on the findings, saying, “Evidently, leaders are turning to AI en masse to fill crucial functions, particularly where human mentorship is lacking. But many are doing so without full confidence in their knowledge or without the support to be sure they are leveraging AI effectively.”
Haighton-Williams added that recent political calls for AI integration into the UK economy, such as Keir Starmer’s statement that AI should be “mainlined into the UK’s veins”, will require more than just investment in technology.
“It requires investment in people on every rung of the business leadership ladder. This will support safe, responsible and ethical AI adoption amongst businesses in the UK.”
