Leveraging AI to drive productivity and growth - AI for Growth

AI is usually discussed as a technology story. This keynote starts with people. Christopher Lane of Accenture reframes AI as a human shift, one that is changing how we work, the tasks within every role, and the skills professionals need. The reality is not simply jobs disappearing, but continuous task reconfiguration. Chris explores what this means in practice for a smaller business: where the genuine concerns lie, where the productivity and growth opportunities are, and how to respond, from rethinking which tasks to stop and start, to the new skills worth building, and the security basics that matter when using AI with sensitive data. The session is practical, honest and built for smaller businesses, with a clear view of where to focus and how to get started. Chris also introduces AI for Growth, the non-profit alliance of which Accenture is a founding member, alongside BT, ElevenLabs, Quantexa, Synthesia and Era4, with BIST as an ecosystem partner. For UK SMEs it offers free, practical tools and a community to help them adopt AI with confidence, whatever stage they are at. You leave with a clearer view of how AI is changing work, where your business should focus, and the free support available to take the next step.