Bank of England Pegs UK AI Productivity Gain at Just 0.5% Over Three Years, Finds Firms Cutting Hiring Not Firing

The Bank of England's November Monetary Policy Report said UK firms estimate AI has raised their productivity by only ~0.5% over three years — about 0.1-0.2pp of annual growth — and that AI-heavy sectors have not exceeded pre-pandemic productivity trends. AI-related activity nonetheless accounts for nearly a fifth of UK GDP growth since the start of 2026, but the Bank attributes most of that to companies building and deploying AI rather than businesses becoming more productive using it. The agents' survey also found firms are becoming less likely to hire or replace departing staff when they adopt AI, but no more likely to actively fire workers.