AI will support a quarter of the growth of the UK economy this year, and the “disorderly decline” of the valuation will bring macro risks

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to economists' estimates, artificial intelligence has driven about a quarter of the UK's growth this year, which also puts the UK at risk of a correction in global AI valuations. Bloomberg Economics said on Wednesday that activities related to this technology, from building data centers to developing AI models, contributed 0.45 percent to UK growth in 2026, while the overall expansion for the whole year was around 1.8%.

“This technology is boosting the UK economy.” Economist Ana Andrade said. The report found that the UK's exposure to the recent AI-related stock sell-off depends on whether this round of adjustments is ultimately a “disorderly decline similar to a financial crisis,” or whether it is a relatively orderly revaluation.

The impact of AI on growth is still mainly due to the production and development of the technology itself, rather than its spread in the economy. “Once more widely adopted, we expect the benefits to be reflected in higher productivity in many industries.” Andrade added in the report.

The measurement of AI in this estimate combines a range of factors, including computing power hardware manufacturing, data center construction, AI model and application development, and services related to data storage and cloud computing.

The report adds one more proof that “AI is driving growth in the UK.” The Bank of England estimates that the promotion of this technology contributed about one-fifth to the expansion of the UK economy this year.