AI is increasing the need for human meetings, not reducing it, according to new research
commissioned by The Meetings
Show.
Challenging
assumptions about the role of technology in improving efficiency, almost two-thirds of business leaders (62 per cent) say AI is increasing the need
for human discussion and alignment.
The findings come from the UK Productivity Gap Index, a new
study building on Northstar Travel Group’s PULSE Survey and based on a survey
of 1,000 UK business leaders. Conducted in partnership with The Business
of Events, it reveals how everyday collaboration challenges are
quietly slowing organisations down.
While
AI is widely adopted, many leaders say it is introducing new complexity. More
than a third (36 per cent) report AI has already had a major or significant operational
impact, with a further 30 per cent experiencing moderate disruption.
Face-to-face
interaction remains central to how organisations navigate that complexity.
Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of leaders say complex or sensitive decisions are made
more quickly in person, rising to 82 per cent for important decisions.
This
added complexity isn’t without consequence. The research also found that UK
businesses are losing the equivalent of a full working month each year because
decisions take too long. Managers report losing an
average 3.9 hours every week to delayed or unclear decisions, adding up to 202
hours or 25 working days of lost productivity annually.
Half (50 per cent) of leaders reported projects frequently stall due to
slow decisions. Nearly as many (47 per cent) report meetings end without a clear
outcome, while 43 per cent noted teams regularly revisit decisions that should have
already been settled.
This
points to a wider issue around alignment rather than effort. On average,
leaders estimate that poor collaboration reduces productivity by 14 per cent, with one
in four reporting the impact is 20 per cent or more.
While
hybrid continues to evolve, the picture is mixed. Half of leaders believe it is
slowing early-career development, yet 59 per cent say knowledge-sharing has improved
since the pandemic. Together, the findings suggest organisations are still
working out how to balance flexibility with effective collaboration.
A
spokesperson for The Business of Events said: “This research highlights a
fundamental shift in how productivity challenges are emerging across UK
organisations. It is no longer simply about how hard people work, but how
effectively teams align, make decisions and move work forward.
“As
organisations adopt AI and more flexible ways of working, the need for clarity
and shared understanding becomes more important, not less. Without that
alignment, technology can accelerate activity, but not necessarily progress.
“What
this study shows is that collaboration, particularly when it brings people
together to resolve complexity, plays a critical role in how businesses
perform.”
Jack
Marczewski, portfolio event director of The Meetings Show, said: “We wanted
this research to reflect how work actually happens inside organisations today.
It shows very clearly that productivity isn’t just about tools or effort. It’s
about how well teams align, make decisions and move work forward.
“As
AI becomes more embedded in the workplace, the need for clear, confident
decision-making becomes even more important. Bringing people together in the
right environment is a big part of that.
“We’re
looking forward to exploring these findings in more depth at the show and
working with the industry to help organisations tackle some of these
challenges.”
The
research will be explored further in a fascinating session at The Meetings
Show, the UK’s leading exhibition for the meetings and events industry, which
returns to Excel London from 24-25 June 2026 and is
co-located with Business Travel Show Europe and TravelTech Show.
To
download the UK Productivity Gap Index, please visit: https://www.themeetingsshow.com/research-paper.
