A new analysis by UK AI content generation website imagineanything.ai has revealed the most sought-after artificial intelligence skills in 2025, as the UK’s AI sector reaches a market valuation of £180 billion, establishing itself as Europe’s largest AI market and the third largest globally behind the US and China.
The comprehensive study shows professionals with AI skills earn approximately 21% more than peers in similar roles without those capabilities, with some specialized positions commanding wage premiums of up to 58%. Machine Learning Engineers top the list of most in-demand roles, with job postings growing around 70–75 % year-over-year
According to the analysis, AI-related jobs are growing 3.6 times faster than the overall job market, with the UK’s AI landscape rapidly expanding as startups raised £830 million in venture capital in Q1 2025 alone.
The UK’s Top 10 Most In-Demand AI Specializations in 2025
- Machine Learning Engineers – Job postings up ~70–75 % year-over-year
- AI/ML Specialists – 36.6% annual growth
- Data Scientists with AI expertise – Among highest paid roles with senior positions reaching £110,000
- Computer Vision Engineers – 40% year-over-year growth
- Natural Language Processing Specialists – Senior positions earning £80,000-£100,000
- Generative AI Engineers – Fastest-growing specialty with over 40 % projected CAGR through 2030
- AI Ethics and Governance Specialists – 15-20% annual salary growth
- AI-Enabled Healthcare Specialists – Critical for healthcare’s growing 12% adoption rate
- Edge AI Developers – Projected to account for 50%+ of all AI initiatives by end of 2025
- AI Systems Integration Specialists – Essential as organizations move beyond pilot programs
“The UK artificial intelligence sector is experiencing explosive growth,” notes the study, with “company numbers increasing by 17%, revenues by 34%, and employment by 29% from 2022-2023.”
Andy Croft, CEO of ImagineAnything.ai, said: “We’re seeing a surge in job applications from professionals who want to work specifically in the AI industry. That groundswell of interest, coupled with unprecedented demand for specialised AI talent, is widening the skills gap across sectors. Organisations that invest in AI capabilities now will be best placed to capture a share of the projected £180 billion annual economic contribution that AI is expected to add to the UK economy by 2050.”
Regional AI Hotspots Emerging Beyond London
While London remains the UK’s AI capital with 36,715 AI-related roles, the analysis identifies several regional hubs experiencing rapid growth:
- Manchester – 25% estimated annual AI company growth rate, named the UK’s most AI-ready city outside London (3,619 AI roles)
- Edinburgh – 20% growth rate, with digital jobs increasing at three times the UK average (2,365 AI roles)
- Cambridge – 15.1% growth rate, with £2.7 billion AI sector turnover (5,453 AI roles)
- Bristol – 14% growth rate, the third most attractive city for tech funding after London and Manchester (2,505 AI roles)
- Oxford – Growing tech hub with 2,311 AI roles
The study shows striking regional variations in AI salaries with London commanding the highest premium (35-40% above regional averages), followed by Cambridge/Oxford (30-35%), Edinburgh (25-30%), Manchester (20-25%), and Birmingham (15-20%).
Industries Adopting AI at Different Rates
The finance sector leads UK AI adoption with a 75% adoption rate, followed by IT and legal services (30%), manufacturing (17%), and healthcare (12%). These variations reflect industry-specific challenges and opportunities.
“Financial services have embraced AI across multiple functions,” the report notes, “with 75% of financial firms currently using AI, up from 58% in 2022.” Foundation models now comprise 17% of all AI use cases in finance, and 55% of financial AI applications include automated decision-making.
By contrast, healthcare shows significant growth potential despite a current modest 12% adoption rate. The UK’s AI healthcare market is projected to grow from £140 million in 2022 to £2.4 billion by 2030, though 62% of UK healthcare professionals cite fear of errors as their biggest barrier to adoption.
Education Racing to Close the Skills Gap
Computing saw the largest proportional increase in university entrant enrollments, rising by 23% from 2021/22 to 2022/23. As of 2024, 122 UK universities offer Master’s degrees in Artificial Intelligence (up from 93 in 2022), and 96 universities offer Bachelor’s programs in AI-related fields.
Despite this growth, the World Economic Forum projects that 40% of the UK workforce will need reskilling in AI-related areas within the next three years. According to AWS research, AI literacy will be required for nearly half (47%) of all new UK jobs over the next three years.
The skills shortage is particularly acute in specific areas, with thousands of open roles across machine-learning engineering, data science, and AI systems architecture, according to LinkedIn and PwC analyses.
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