Ipsos’ Public Affairs business in the UK launches Centre for AI Policy and Impact to support evidence-led decision-making

Ipsos’ Public Affairs business in the UK today launches its new Centre for AI Policy and Impact, a cross-sector centre of excellence dedicated to helping policymakers, businesses and civil society organisations understand and navigate the real-world implications of artificial intelligence.

The Centre brings together independent evidence on how AI is shaping society, supporting better decision-making in the public interest at a time of rapid technological change.

What the Centre does

The Centre is designed to bridge the gap between the technical potential of AI and its practical impact on public services, the economy and wider society.

It delivers:

• Public trust and sentiment tracking: Ongoing measurement of how people perceive the risks, benefits and real-world impacts of AI.
• Adoption and impact analysis: Cross-sector insights into how organisations are implementing AI, including barriers, outcomes, and workforce implications.
• Policy and ethics frameworks: Evidence-based guidance to support responsible AI deployment aligned with public expectations and emerging regulation.
• Strategic advisory: Supporting governments and organisations to understand how AI will impact frontline services, from healthcare to education, and how to implement it effectively.

Drawing on Ipsos’ global footprint and experience working across the public, private, and third sectors, the Centre synthesises insights across domains - helping decision-makers apply lessons from one part of the system to another.

All published outputs are grounded in independent research and adhere to Ipsos’ global standards for methodological rigour, transparency and integrity.

Why now

The launch comes at a pivotal moment; organisations are moving from experimentation with AI to implementation at scale, while public expectations and concerns continue to evolve.

Recent Ipsos research highlights a complex and evolving landscape, explored in more detail in a new insight note published alongside this launch.

Public attitudes remain mixed

While there is optimism about AI improving services such as healthcare, concerns remain widespread. Majorities of Britons believe AI could increase overreliance on technology (71%), drive unemployment (70%), and concentrate power in large technology companies (68%).

This unease is compounded by a perceived lack of governance, with half (50%) of the public believing regulation is not keeping pace with AI development. Only 19% report a clear positive personal impact from AI-driven decision-making, and 11% a negative one – suggesting many people are still forming their views.

Businesses are at very different stages of AI adoption

While 47% of British businesses report some AI adoption, 26% have no current plans to implement it, indicating uneven readiness across the economy. Among adopters, benefits are primarily operational, with half (49%) citing improved efficiency and productivity. However, scaling AI remains challenging, with barriers including data privacy and security concerns (33%), lack of in-house expertise (28%), implementation costs (26%), and integration difficulties (26%).

A growing implementation gap

Public expectations of AI remain cautious and shaped by concerns around trust and governance, while organisations are moving ahead with adoption at different speeds. This divergence raises questions about how consistently AI will be deployed, governed and experienced across services and sectors.

Trinh Tu, Managing Director, Ipsos Public Affairs:

As AI moves from experimentation into wider deployment, how it is implemented across society is becoming increasingly important. Our research shows that adoption is progressing at different speeds across organisations, while public attitudes remain mixed, with concerns around trust and governance shaping how people view its impact.

This uneven pace of adoption matters because it will influence how consistently AI is experienced across public services and wider society. There is a clear need for robust, independent evidence to understand these dynamics and support decisions on how AI is governed and applied in practice. The Centre for AI Policy and Impact has been established to meet that need.

Daniel Cameron, Director of the Centre for AI Policy and Impact:

We are moving out of the 'hype' phase of artificial intelligence and into a much more challenging 'delivery' phase for the public sector. Our research highlights a clear tension: organisations are eager to scale for efficiency, yet they are often paralysed by regulatory uncertainty and security concerns. At the same time, the public is waiting for a signal that the government has a plan to deal with the risks of AI for the economy and across society.

The Centre for AI Policy and Impact has been designed specifically to navigate these nuances. By bridging the gap between the ambition around AI and what is really going on at the frontline means we can help our clients identify tangible steps forward to realise the potential of AI in a way that is both impactful and sustainable.

Notes:
•    For more information on the Centre for AI Policy and Impact, please visit the Centre’s page on the Ipsos website.
•    Data cited is based on Ipsos polling conducted March 2026 among 1,119 UK adults and February 2026 among 1,200 senior financial business decision makers.