Partner Article

Nine in ten North East entrepreneurs see measurable benefits from AI

Almost nine in ten North East entrepreneurs using Artificial Intelligence say it is delivering measurable benefits to their business, according to new research from the Entrepreneurs’ Forum.

The latest quarterly Pulse Survey of 113 business owners found that 97% are using AI in some form, and of those, 89% are moving beyond experimentation and reporting tangible benefits for the business.

• 34% claim to be saving up to five hours per week
• 32% are seeing productivity or operational efficiencies equivalent to five to 20 hours.
• 23% report significant operational or financial benefits equivalent to more than 50 hours saved each week.

North East businesses are also investing in making AI work effectively, with 87% of AI users having made a meaningful investment in AI during the past 12 months. When asked which AI tool had proved most useful, ChatGPT and Claude were joint leaders, each selected by 38% of business owners, ahead of Microsoft Copilot at 15%. 

Elaine Stroud, CEO of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, said:  “These results don’t mean every business has suddenly transformed because it bought an AI subscription. There is still a lot of experimentation going on, but when almost nine in ten users can identify a measurable benefit, it is becoming much harder to dismiss AI’s impact in the workplace.

“The next question for entrepreneurs is how they move from using individual tools to thinking more strategically about where AI can improve their business, and what that means for the people and skills they will need in future.”

The research found 27% of respondents now have AI embedded across multiple business functions, up 8% from May, while a further 18% have deliberately changed workflows or processes to integrate AI.

Research is the most common application, used by 74%, followed by marketing content and meeting notes or transcripts, both at 65%. More than half use AI for writing proposals, bids, and tenders or summarising lengthy documents, and almost half use it to analyse data or as a thinking partner to stress-test decisions and plans.

Elaine added: “One of the really interesting findings is that AI is also beginning to affect recruitment decisions. While 59% say it has made no difference to their hiring plans, 19% of our members expect to recruit people with different skills as a result of AI, and 12% expect to hire fewer people.” 

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum Pulse Survey is conducted quarterly to capture the experiences and outlook of founders and business leaders across the North East. The latest research was conducted independently by Explain Market Research between 28 August and 8 September 2026.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Entrepreneurs' Forum .