London has the highest share of small businesses paying for AI tools in the latest UK dataset, with 19.9 per cent of card-holding SMEs paying AI providers in the third quarter of 2026. The figure that stands out, though, is Milton Keynes. Its share rose from 7.8 per cent in Q3 2025 to 17.1 per cent a year later, a gain of 9.3 percentage points.
The top five
- London: 19.9%
- Milton Keynes: 17.1%
- Edinburgh: 16.7%
- Bristol: 16.5%
- Reading: 16.3%
Positions six to thirteen
- Brighton: 16.1%
- Norwich: 15.4%
- Leicester: 14.9%
- Leeds: 14.7%
- Glasgow: 13.6%
- Manchester: 13.2%
- Birmingham: 11.8%
- Liverpool: 11.1%
The dataset does not rank AI expertise, and it does not measure all business AI use. Only paid subscriptions made with a business card are counted, so free users and payments made by other means are left out.
The national picture
Across all UK SMEs in the dataset, 14.5 per cent paid AI providers using their card in Q3 2026, up from 8.0 per cent a year earlier. Every city on the list grew year on year, according to the report.
Cheltenham does not appear in the dataset. Bristol, the closest city on the list, is fourth at 16.5 per cent.
The figures come from Capital on Tap’s Spend Trends On Tap report for Q3 2026, based on the provider’s business card transaction data. The charts were produced by Stuart Cole Consulting. Full report: capitalontap.com/en/blog/posts/spend-trends-on-tap-q3-2026/
