Round One Results – We're Reaching an AI Tipping Point
The results from round one suggest the social housing sector may be approaching an AI “tipping point”, with widespread workforce adoption now significantly ahead of organisational capability and governance maturity.
The first phase of ‘On the AI Pulse’ found that AI tools are already embedded in everyday work across the sector, with 68% of respondents reporting frequent use.
However it also discovered that most organisations remain structurally unprepared to scale AI beyond basic productivity support.
The study found AI use is currently concentrated around content generation, summarisation and administrative assistance rather than workflow redesign or service transformation.
Despite this, belief in AI’s long-term impact is extremely high:
- 90% believe AI can improve services
- 72% expect AI to significantly transform housing operations
- Nearly half believe the sector is adopting AI too slowly
The findings point to a growing disconnect between workforce behaviour and institutional readiness.
While individuals report high confidence in using AI tools, only 17% believe their organisations currently possess the necessary skills and capability to implement AI effectively at scale.
The project also identified significant levels of “shadow AI” usage, with almost one-third of respondents admitting to using unofficial AI tools outside approved organisational systems.
Rather than interpreting this as a governance failure, the research suggests it reflects unmet demand from digitally capable employees attempting to work around slow-moving organisational structures.
Round two is coming in September and we’d love you to be a part of it, so watch this space.