Oxford Insights
From January to March 2026, we worked with Kompass Consulting to deliver a comparative study of AI adoption dynamics across various UK regulators for Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain. The aim was to deliver a first formal assessment of AI maturity in the UK regulatory sector across five dimensions: leadership, adoption, complexity, breadth, and data.
The challenge
Regulatory bodies in the UK, like government departments, are increasingly coming under pressure to adopt AI at scale in a bid to drive efficiency and alleviate tight budgets. However, adoption looks different depending on the organisation: the sophistication, breadth, and intent with which AI is being adopted is asymmetrical and varied, owing to a number of factors such as strategic alignment, budget, and organisational culture. Understanding the challenges that underpinned organisations’ difficulties with integrating the technology required careful research. In particular, Ofgem sought to understand its level of AI maturity relative to other regulatory bodies.
Our approach
Over 9 weeks, we spoke to senior data and AI stakeholders across various departments and regulators to profile organisations according to our AI maturity model.
As part of our 9 week engagement, we
- interviewed multiple stakeholders across 8 regulators and 6 government departments, using different interview guides for each group of organisations;
- collected data on dedicated AI resources (FTE and budget) where possible to identify material differences between organisations;
- surveyed all 8 regulators according to our AI maturity model, grading responses on a Likert scale for comparability; and
- conducted extensive desk research into organisational strategies for AI and their deployment pipelines.
Our impact
We delivered a robust report with relevant findings across all of our maturity dimensions.
This was the first ever study into AI adoption dynamics in the UK regulatory sector, providing a relevant benchmark of best practices in some organisations, as well as political capital for others to redesign their approaches.
Grid image by Jamillah Knowles & Digit / Pink Office / Licenced by CC-BY 4.0
