New Data Reveals How Much AI Is Costing UK Business Operations

With every department in the workplace using AI now, and this is thanks to the promise everyone was fed: you get your work done faster and for less, which saves your business some money.

But is that really the case? Well, 51toCarbonZero did some research and found something a lot different from that sales pitch. The research says 88% of the surveyed UK and US senior marketers said AI is increasing their organisation’s operational costs and the same 88% also said AI is increasing their carbon footprint.

So, businesses are in a predicament; AI is becoming more common within organisations, but many are finding that every new prompt, model and workflow comes with a financial cost that doesn’t make it all feel worth it.

Richard Davis, CEO and co founder of 51toCarbonZero, said, “AI is transforming marketing at pace, but this research shows brands are becoming increasingly aware that speed of execution alone doesn’t equal sustainability.

“With nearly nine in ten marketers acknowledging that AI is increasing emissions, the fact that only a third have fully measured its impact highlights a significant governance challenge. Businesses cannot effectively reduce what they are not measuring and there is still work to do to build greater visibility around AI’s environmental impact.”

Do Businesses Actually Know What AI Is Costing Them?

Knowing that the bill is going up due to AI use is one thing – knowing exactly where those costs are coming from is another.

We recently spoke about how businesses do not know where their AI spending is going and how certain companies are capping the bill to try minimise spending (even though they’re able to request more money). Now, this survey says only 36% of marketers told 51toCarbonZero they have fully measured the carbon footprint of their organisation’s AI use and 56% said they have only measured it partly – 8% admitted they have not measured it at all.

That leaves so many businesses just spending money on AI without seeing the complete bill. The survey also found that 35% believe AI is increasing operational costs a great deal, and 42% said emissions are going up by the same amount.

AI has become something that employees use every day for a lot of businesses. Measuring electricity use, computing resources and the environmental cost behind those tools has not kept up with the adoption rates.

Is AI Becoming Less Popular Because Of Those Costs?

Nothing in the research says businesses are slowing down and even the Office for National Statistics said the share of UK businesses with at least 10 employees using at least one AI technology has gone from around 12% in late 2023 to around 35% during 2026. Larger businesses were more likely to use AI than smaller ones.

Many companies are bringing AI into everyday work instead of saving it for specialist projects. According to the ONS, improving business operations is the most common reason businesses use AI. More than 60% of larger businesses reported using it for that purpose.

The Office for National Statistics found the average business using AI reports using around 1.6 AI technologies… Late in 2023 that average was around 1.4.

So, this means many organisations are paying more even before AI becomes deeply embedded throughout every team and every workflow.

Are Businesses Going To Start Valuing Sustainability Eventually?

The survey indicates that sustainability is becoming a bigger factor when companies choose agencies, tech suppliers and publishing platforms. According to 51toCarbonZero, 91% said sustainability credentials are important during that buying process. A total of 41% described them as extremely important.

Half of the marketers surveyed said their organisation is increasing its commitment to sustainability during 2026. Only 4% said those commitments are being reduced.

Neil Woodcock, Executive Chairman and co founder of 51toCarbonZero, said, “The conversation around sustainability is clearly evolving. Last year, many marketers were still grappling with whether sustainability could realistically be embedded into business operations. This year, the challenge is increasingly about balancing sustainability ambitions with the rapid growth of technologies like AI.

“What’s encouraging is that sustainability is no longer being viewed solely as a reputational issue. It’s becoming a commercial and operational consideration that increasingly influences procurement, investment and long term business resilience. The fact that budget concerns and strategic misalignment, which were among the biggest barriers just 12 months ago, have fallen so sharply tells us that the groundwork brands have been laying is starting to pay off.”