of organisations report using AI in at least one business function.
Stanford AI Index, 2026We help professionals and organisations make the most of AI.
Move beyond AI adoption. Use AI to deliver more valuable work.
The evidence
AI adoption is growing. Operational maturity is lagging.
Access to AI is no longer the main constraint. The harder challenge is redesigning work, integrating AI with business systems and building the operating capability needed to realise value.
of executives describe their generative-AI rollouts as mature.
McKinsey State of AI, 2025of organisations report enterprise-level EBIT impact from AI.
McKinsey State of AI, 2025of professional and business-services firms were using AI by December 2025.
UK Government Professional and Business Services AI Adoption Planreported limited progress on redesigning processes around AI.
UK Government Professional and Business Services AI Adoption Planof AI-using UK businesses reported AI integrated with existing business systems.
UK Business Data Survey 2026Professional capacity
Experts should spend their time doing expert work.
How much professional time is spent on work that doesn't require professional judgement? 1LAB helps you rethink how that work gets done — using AI where appropriate, without automating the judgement that makes professionals valuable.
Professional capacity today
Professional capacity consumed by information work
Professional capacity with 1LAB
More capacity for valuable work
The illustration shows professional capacity today split between search, copy, reconcile, coordinate, draft and chase, with a small share left for judgement. With 1LAB, a smaller systems-and-AI share handles the information work, freeing most professional capacity for value building, decisions, relationships and exceptions.
Operational design
AI can create value. It can also create more work.
More tools. More subscriptions. More AI-generated output to review. More processes layered onto existing processes. And, as AI becomes more consequential, more governance, evidence and compliance to maintain.
Without deliberate design, organisations can replace one form of operational friction with another — consuming the professional capacity AI was meant to release.
Too little structure
- Scattered use
- Inconsistent results
- Unmanaged risk
Healthy operating rangeAppropriate intervention
Too much structure
- Tool bloat
- Review overhead
- Disproportionate control burden
Four entry points for improving how AI is used.
Start with the intervention that matters most: practical understanding, valuable adoption, workflow integration, or assurance aligned with relevant standards, ISO frameworks and regulation. This is not a fixed sequence.
- 01Knowledge
Understand AI
Build practical AI literacy, responsible-use capability and a shared understanding of what AI can — and cannot — do.
OutcomeClarity - 02Adoption
Use AI where it creates value
Identify valuable workflows, improve day-to-day use, quantify opportunities and prioritise where to act.
OutcomeValue - 03Integration
Embed AI into real work
Redesign workflows and connect the appropriate combination of people, knowledge, automation and AI systems.
OutcomeCapacity - 04Assurance
Operate AI with confidence
Define ownership, risk, human oversight, evaluation, monitoring, regulatory compliance and evidence as AI becomes operationally important.
OutcomeControl
The 1LAB intervention map
Use the simplest intervention that reliably improves the work.
Not every problem needs more AI. Match the intervention to the value of improving the work and the professional judgement it requires — with assurance proportionate to the consequence of being wrong.
Decide by value opportunity, from low to high, and human judgement, from low to high.
Assist
Support the professional without over-engineering.
- Prompt
- Skill
- AI assistant
Augment
Increase the leverage of professional judgement.
- Knowledge support
- AI workflow
- Decision support
Autopilot
Take routine work off the professional's plate.
- Routine
- Simple workflow
- AI tool
Automate
Automate repeatable work that doesn't require professional judgement.
- Workflow
- Integration
- Agent
Learning and knowledge
Build the capability to do better work with AI.
Understanding AI is only the beginning. Learn how to use it effectively, apply it to real work and turn ideas into valuable outcomes.
Organisations
Put AI to work across your organisation.
Build practical team capability to improve work and identify where deeper integration and automation can create value.
Professionals
Turn ideas into working solutions.
Develop the skills to use AI effectively — from improving your everyday work to creating your own workflows, tools, apps and websites.