AI accounts for a quarter of UK economic growth this year; a "disorderly decline" in valuations would bring macroeconomic risks.

Economists estimate that artificial intelligence drove about a quarter of UK growth this year, leaving Britain exposed to a global pullback in AI valuations. Bloomberg Economics said Wednesday that activity tied to the technologyfrom building data centers to developing AI modelscontributed 0.45 percentage points to UK growth in 2026, out of total expansion of about 1.8% for the year. "This technology is giving the UK economy a boost," said economist Ana Andrade. How exposed Britain is to a recent selloff in AI-related stocks depends on whether the correction ultimately proves to be a "disorderly decline akin to a financial crisis" or a more orderly repricing of valuations, the report found. AI's contribution to growth still comes mainly from the production and development of the technology itself, rather than its diffusion through the economy. "Once adopted more widely, we expect the gains to show up in higher productivity across a wide range of industries," Andrade added in the report. The estimate's measure of AI combines a range of factors, including computing hardware manufacturing, data center construction, AI model and application development, and data storage and cloud computing-related services. The report adds another piece of evidence that "AI is driving UK growth." The Bank of England estimates that the spread of the technology contributed about a fifth of UK economic expansion this year.