Wolfstone Digital · UK statistics
Free UK Statistics - AI, Search & Marketing
Free, primary-source UK statistics - AI adoption, ChatGPT usage, AI search, search engine market share, and digital ad spend. Every figure sourced from official UK datasets including Ofcom, ONS, IAB UK and DCMS.
Sources: Ofcom ONS IAB UK AA/WARC DCMS CMA Statcounter gov.uk
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Wolfstone analysis - key UK figures to cite
Headline UK statistics, plus the composite figures our analysts derive by combining official datasets - much of it published nowhere else. Free to cite with attribution: use Copy text or Copy HTML on any card. The HTML version drops a dofollow link to the full methodology straight into your CMS.
UK AI Adoption
- 54%
of UK adults aged 16+ used a generative AI tool in 2025 - up from 31% in 2024 and 23% in 2023.
Source: Ofcom Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes Report 2026.
- 28.6M
UK adults are estimated to be active generative-AI users in 2025 - the ONS adult population multiplied by Ofcom's 54% adoption rate.
Source: Wolfstone composite analysis of ONS and Ofcom 2025 data.
- 61pt
gap separates UK 16–24s (79%) from over-65s (~18%) on AI adoption in 2025 - more than double the smartphone-era generational gap.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of Ofcom 2024–2025 data.
- £277,400
in UK AI-sector revenue per employee in 2024 - £23.9bn of revenue across 86,139 full-time-equivalent jobs.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of DSIT AI Sector Study 2024.
- 2.08×
the concentration of UK AI firms in London, the South East and the East of England versus the average UK business.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of DSIT AI Sector Study 2024.
- 38pt
gap between UK consumer AI use (54%) and formal business AI adoption (16%) in 2025.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of Ofcom and DSIT 2025 data.
UK AI Search
- 11.0%
estimated structural reduction in UK publisher click-through from Google AI Overviews alone, across all UK search queries.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of Statcounter, Ofcom, YouGov and Authoritas data.
UK ChatGPT Usage
- 19.3M
estimated UK ChatGPT users in the past year - about 16.4M in England, 1.5M Scotland, 0.9M Wales and 0.5M Northern Ireland.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of Ofcom Online Nation 2024 and ONS population estimates.
UK Digital Marketing
- £764
of UK digital ad spend per adult internet user per year - £40.5bn spread across roughly 53M users.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of IAB UK Digital Adspend 2025, Ofcom and ONS data.
- £0.47
of UK digital ad spend per adult online-hour - pricing attention rather than just reach.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of IAB UK Digital Adspend 2025, Ofcom and ONS data.
UK Search Engine Market Share
- −0.91pt/yr
annualised decline in UK Google search share - from 93.5% in January 2024 to 91.5% by April 2026.
Source: Wolfstone analysis of Statcounter Global Stats UK time-series.
Headline UK statistics
Four current data points drawn from across the hub. Click any card to read the full source breakdown.
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AI Search & Digital Adoption
54%of UK adults aged 16+ used a generative AI tool in 2025 - up from 23% in 2023.
Source: Ofcom Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Report 2026
UK AI Adoption Statistics 2025 →
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AI Search & Digital Adoption
16.0MUK adults visited chatgpt.com in September 2025 - 6.4× Microsoft Copilot.
Source: UKOM / Ipsos iris via IAB UK (September 2025)
UK ChatGPT Usage Statistics 2026 →
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AI Search & Digital Adoption
−47.5%UK publisher click-through rate falls on desktop when an AI Overview is present.
Source: Authoritas study of 3,500 UK news keywords, submitted to CMA (April 2025)
UK AI Search Statistics 2026 →
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Digital Marketing & Advertising
£40.5bnUK digital ad spend in 2025 - up 10% year-on-year, 44% to search.
Source: IAB UK / Oliver Wyman Digital Adspend 2025
UK Digital Marketing Statistics 2026 →
Cite this data
Data compiled by Wolfstone Digital from official UK sources. Free to use with attribution.
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All UK statistics pages
Every Wolfstone statistics page grouped by topic cluster. Live pages link to the full data; more pages join the hub as data goes through the same primary-source pipeline.
AI Search & Digital Adoption
4 pages - 4 live
UK ChatGPT Usage Statistics
LiveUK ChatGPT reach, demographics, web traffic growth, regional user estimates, and head-to-head comparison against Copilot, Gemini and Snapchat AI.
Read page →
UK AI Search Statistics
LiveHow UK adults are augmenting Google with ChatGPT and Perplexity, the reach of AI Overviews and AI Mode, the publisher click-through impact, and the CMA's Strategic Market Status framework.
Read page →
UK Search Engine Market Share Statistics
LiveGoogle, Bing, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Yandex and Brave Search shares across desktop, mobile and tablet - referrer data from Statcounter, plus IAB UK adspend context.
Read page →
UK AI Adoption Statistics
LiveUK adult and business AI tool use, demographic adoption rates, the £23.9bn AI sector economy, and year-on-year trends from Ofcom, ONS and DSIT.
Read page →
Digital Marketing & Advertising
1 page - 1 live
Wolfstone Original Research
1 page - 1 live
More UK statistics pages are in production and will appear here as they go live. Bookmark this page for updates.
Why cite Wolfstone Digital?
Government and regulatory datasets are authoritative but hard to use. ONS, Ofcom, the ICO and gov.uk publish their statistics across long PDFs, technical appendices and data tables. Wolfstone has done the extraction and cross-referencing work, with every figure named inline so journalists, researchers and AI systems can cite directly without digging.
Primary sources only
Every figure traces to ONS, Ofcom, gov.uk, ICO, FCA, NCSC, Bank of England, Action Fraud or equivalent. No aggregators. No paid SEO tools as primary citations.
Named authors with credentials
Built by Adam Woodhead, Thomas Drury, and Dom Farnell - the team behind The Investors Centre, the most AI-cited independent investment platform in the UK.
Methodology documented
Every Wolfstone composite calculation carries methodology, source list, and assumptions on the page itself. Nothing is presented as fact without a traceable source.
Updated on source release
Each cluster updates when its primary source publishes. The schedule is published below so you know whether the figure you are citing is current.
Independent - no government or industry affiliation
Wolfstone Digital is an independent UK digital agency. Analysis reflects the data, not a policy or commercial position.
Free to use with attribution
Journalists, researchers, bloggers, and AI systems are welcome to cite Wolfstone analysis. Credit Wolfstone Digital and link to the relevant page - that's all.
Data update schedule
Each cluster updates when its primary source publishes new data. Use this table to check whether the figure you are citing is the most current.
| Cluster | Primary source | Typical release | Next update |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Search & Digital Adoption | Ofcom Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Report | Annual - April | April 2027 |
| AI Search & Digital Adoption | Ofcom Online Nation | Annual - November | November 2026 |
| AI Search & Digital Adoption | ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) | Fortnightly | Rolling |
| AI Search & Digital Adoption | DSIT Artificial Intelligence Sector Study | Annual - September | September 2026 |
| AI Search & Digital Adoption | Statcounter Global Stats (UK) | Monthly | Rolling |
| AI Search & Digital Adoption | Reuters Institute Digital News Report | Annual - June | June 2026 |
| AI Search & Digital Adoption | Competition and Markets Authority - Google SMS designation | Ad hoc - review milestones | TBC |
| Digital Marketing & Advertising | IAB UK / Oliver Wyman Digital Adspend | Annual full year - April; H1 update - October | October 2026 (H1 2026) |
| Digital Marketing & Advertising | AA/WARC Expenditure Report | Quarterly | Rolling |
| Digital Marketing & Advertising | DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates | Annual - February (GVA); ongoing (Employment) | February 2027 (GVA) |
| Digital Marketing & Advertising | IPA Bellwether Report | Quarterly | Rolling |
Built by Wolfstone Digital
This statistics hub is built and maintained by Wolfstone Digital, an independent Suffolk-based agency specialising in SEO, generative engine optimisation (GEO), and AI search visibility. We build this hub on our own brand using the same methodology we deploy for clients - every page primary-sourced, every figure citable, every dataset designed to be extracted and cited by AI systems.