Target Integration, the Birmingham-based digital adoption specialist, has warned UK manufacturers not to be left behind following the publication of new government research showing that eight in ten UK businesses have no plans to adopt AI

The UK Government’s AI Adoption Research, published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) earlier this year, found that only 16 per cent of UK businesses are currently using AI, with a further 5 per cent planning to adopt it. The remaining 80 per cent have no plans to do so. Separate research published by the OECD in February 2026 found that just 10.6 per cent of European manufacturing enterprises had adopted AI (below the already modest cross-sector average of 13 per cent), placing manufacturing among the least digitally advanced sectors in the economy.

The barriers are well documented. Both reports identify skills shortages, high upfront costs, and uncertainty about return on investment as the primary obstacles to adoption. Yet the OECD is equally clear about what manufacturers stand to gain: AI applied to predictive maintenance, quality assurance, and supply chain optimisation offers some of the most measurable near-term productivity returns available to the sector.

Rohit Thakral, CEO of Target Integration, said: “What strikes us about both reports is not the low adoption numbers. It’s the gap between what manufacturers know they should do and what they actually feel equipped to do. After 18 years in business and more than 4,500 implementations, that is precisely the gap we exist to close.”

Target Integration will be exhibiting at Subcon 2026 in Birmingham on 3-4 June, where consultants will be available for no-obligation Digital Health Checks to help manufacturers identify where ERP and AI can deliver the fastest returns.

Visitors are invited to stand C90 to book a Digital Health Check.

For more information, visit https://targetintegration.com/en_gb/

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