Awards 2026

The National AI Awards is a celebration of excellence and innovation for those who are committed to artificial intelligence.

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to drive business transformation, operational excellence, and measurable commercial impact. The focus is on how AI has been adopted and integrated within the business to improve processes, decision-making, or customer and commercial outcomes, rather than on the technology development itself.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the adoption.

Judges will evaluate the strategic vision, execution, and tangible outcomes of the AI implementation, including efficiency gains, revenue impact, customer experience improvements, and workforce enablement.

AI Enterprise Business of the year

Recognises large organisations that have successfully implemented AI to drive transformation, enhance operational performance, and create measurable business impact.

This award celebrates the adoption, implementation, and integration of AI at scale across the business demonstrating how AI has improved processes, decision-making, customer outcomes, or strategic capabilities.

Entrants should showcase strategic vision, execution excellence, and tangible results achieved through AI.

AI SME Business of the year

Recognises small and medium-sized enterprises that have successfully embraced AI to transform their business operations, drive growth, and gain a competitive edge.

This award celebrates the adoption, implementation, and integration of AI across the organisation demonstrating how AI has enabled business transformation, improved processes, enhanced customer outcomes, or delivered measurable commercial impact.

AI in Project & Programme Management

Recognises organisations that have harnessed AI to enhance project delivery, optimise resource allocation, and improve decision-making across programmes.

This award celebrates the use of AI to support planning, risk management, performance tracking, and strategic alignment enabling more efficient, data-driven project execution.

AI in People, HR & Colleague Experience

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to transform human resources and enhance the employee experience.

This award celebrates the use of AI to improve talent acquisition, workforce management, learning and development, and overall colleague engagement.

Entrants should demonstrate how AI has driven measurable improvements in HR processes, employee satisfaction, and organisational performance.

AI in Technology Operations

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to enhance IT operations, cybersecurity, or software development processes.

This award celebrates the use of AI to optimise the software development lifecycle, improve system performance, strengthen security posture, and support innovation in IT and technology environments.

Entrants should focus on how AI has driven measurable improvements, from development efficiency and operational resilience to proactive threat detection and mitigation.

AI in Finance, Accounting & Audit

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to transform finance, accounting, or audit functions.

This award celebrates the use of AI to improve financial operations, enhance reporting accuracy, streamline auditing processes, and support data-driven decision-making.

Entrants should demonstrate how AI has driven measurable efficiency, reduced risk, and delivered commercial value, rather than focusing on the technology itself.

AI in Operations & Supply Chain

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to optimise operational efficiency and strengthen supply chain performance.

This award celebrates the use of AI to enhance process automation, improve demand forecasting, optimise inventory management, and streamline logistics - demonstrating tangible operational improvements and commercial benefits.

Entrants should focus on how AI has been applied to drive measurable efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve overall operational resilience.

AI in Marketing & Customer Experience

Recognises organisations that have leveraged AI to transform marketing effectiveness and elevate customer experience.

This award celebrates the use of AI to deliver personalised marketing campaigns, enhance customer engagement, and optimise service delivery - including the ability to anticipate and pre-empt customer issues before they arise.

Entrants should demonstrate how AI has created measurable improvements in customer satisfaction, loyalty, and business growth through innovative and responsible implementation.

AI in Sales & Business Development

Recognises organisations that have harnessed AI to enhance sales performance, accelerate business growth, and strengthen customer relationships.

This award celebrates the effective use of AI to optimise lead generation, sales forecasting, client engagement, or business development strategies demonstrating measurable commercial impact.

Recognises AI products, platforms, and solutions that deliver significant business or commercial impact, while embedding principles of ethics, transparency, and sustainability in their design or deployment.

The focus is on the technology itself, its innovation, scalability, and measurable contribution to organisational performance, rather than the organisation using it.

Entries can come from vendors directly, or vendors may submit jointly with clients to demonstrate real-world deployment and outcomes.

Judges will evaluate the product’s innovation, effectiveness, and business value, including how it drives transformation, improves processes, or enhances growth, while considering responsible AI practices, environmental impact, and social responsibility.

AI Product of the Year

Recognising outstanding AI-powered products or technologies that have demonstrated exceptional innovation, usability, and impact in addressing specific needs or solving real-world problems.

The recipient of this award will be recognised as the overall best in the AI Product category - the very best of the best.

This is not an award that can be entered directly; eligibility is limited to entrants of the other AI Product awards. From among those entries, the winner will be selected as the ultimate standout within the category.

Best Enterprise AI Solution

Recognises AI products or solutions that have been successfully implemented at scale within large organisations, delivering measurable business impact and operational transformation.

This award celebrates solutions that demonstrate robustness, scalability, and effectiveness in solving complex enterprise challenges while adhering to principles of ethical, transparent, and responsible AI.

Best SME AI Solution

This award celebrates a pioneering SME that is making a significant impact in the field of AI. It recognises innovative young companies that demonstrate exceptional growth potential, creativity, and the ability to solve real-world challenges through AI-driven solutions.

AI Innovation of the Year

The nominee must demonstrate a transformative AI-driven technology, emerging product, or solution that showcases creativity and originality while addressing significant challenges or unlocking new opportunities across industries or domains. The innovation should include clear and measurable evidence of its impact.

Best Industry-Specific AI Solution

Recognises AI products or solutions that deliver exceptional impact within a specific industry, solving unique challenges, optimising processes, or driving measurable business outcomes.

This award celebrates innovations that are tailored to the needs of a particular sector, demonstrating scalability, effectiveness, and real-world deployment while embedding principles of ethics, transparency, and responsible AI use.

Best AI Platform & Infrastructure Award

Recognises AI platforms, frameworks, and infrastructure solutions that empower organisations to develop, deploy, and scale AI effectively.

This award celebrates products that provide robust tooling, scalable architecture, and monitoring capabilities, enabling other teams or organisations to build AI solutions efficiently while ensuring reliability, performance, and responsible AI operation.

Entries should demonstrate how the platform or infrastructure drives innovation, adoption, and measurable business or operational impact.

This category celebrates leadership in the responsible use of artificial intelligence to serve society. It honours the individuals, teams, and organisations driving meaningful impact for citizens, communities, and the public good – whether through ethical AI practices, the advancement of AI in law enforcement, or the transformation of government and public sector services.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the adoption.

Responsible AI Award

Recognises individuals, teams or organisations demonstrating outstanding leadership in the ethical, safe and inclusive deployment of AI.

This award celebrates initiatives that embed safety, transparency, fairness, accountability and diversity‑equity‑inclusion into the design, governance and use of AI - including proactive measures to avoid gender, racial or other protected‑group biases, reduce harm and benefit society.

NPCC Award for Public Safety

A closed award recognising exceptional contributions to AI safety and security within policing. Chosen by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Commissioner, this award recognises systems that demonstrate innovation, effectiveness in crime reduction, ethical data use, community engagement, adaptability, accuracy, interoperability, legal compliance, resilience to adversarial attacks and bias, and sustained impact.

These systems should exhibit creativity in addressing policing challenges, measurable crime reduction, ethical data practices, community trust building, adaptability to changing circumstances, high accuracy, seamless integration with existing technologies, legal compliance, robustness against adversarial attacks and biases, and long-term sustainability in supporting law enforcement objectives.

AI in Government & Public Sector

Celebrating excellence and innovation in the use of artificial intelligence within government agencies, public sector organisations, and civic institutions. Recipients of this award demonstrate exemplary initiatives, policies, or projects leveraging AI to enhance public services, improve governance, and address societal challenges effectively.

This category recognises the impact of AI in education and skills development. It celebrates innovative applications of AI that enhance educational experiences, foster personalised learning, and improve outcomes for students, educators, and institutions. Entries in this category can showcase initiatives, programmes, or organisations, as well as academic institutions such as schools, colleges and universities.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the adoption.

Educator of the Year

Recognises an individual, organisation, or programme that has demonstrated outstanding achievement in teaching, promoting, or advancing AI knowledge and skills.

This award celebrates excellence in AI education across schools, universities, apprenticeships, and organisational learning programmes, as well as initiatives that enhance AI literacy and inspire learners at all levels.

Stephanie ‘Steve’ Shirley Career Innovator of the Year

This award celebrates exceptional early-career professionals who are making a meaningful contribution to the field of AI. Inspired by the pioneering spirit of Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley, it recognises emerging talent who demonstrate creativity, ambition, and the potential to become future leaders in technology.

The award aims to spotlight individuals who may not yet see themselves as industry leaders but are already driving innovation, shaping impactful AI work, and showing remarkable promise at this formative stage of their careers.

Entrants of this award can include students, emerging talent, career changers, those returning to work - individuals who are driving measurable impact.

AI Award for Education

Recognising initiatives, products, solutions, programmes, or organisations that leverage artificial intelligence to enhance learning outcomes and improve educational experiences across all levels of education - including but not limited to schools, colleges, universities, professional training, workplace learning, and lifelong education.

The recipient of this award demonstrates exemplary efforts in deploying AI technologies to personalise learning, promote accessibility, and empower both educators and learners in diverse educational settings.

This category recognises the individuals who are shaping the future of artificial intelligence through vision, influence, and innovation.

It celebrates those who inspire others, advance understanding, and drive meaningful change across the AI landscape – from communicators and champions who bring AI to life for wider audiences, to pioneers whose groundbreaking work pushes the boundaries of innovation, and those whose lifetime contributions have left a lasting impact on the field.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the adoption.

AI Citizen of the Year

Recognising individuals who have made exceptional, long-term contributions to the AI industry over a period of 10 years or more. promoting AI literacy, advocacy, and the responsible adoption of AI, this penultimate award celebrates a career of achievement and outstanding impact.

The recipient should demonstrate unwavering dedication to raising awareness, fostering meaningful dialogue, and empowering citizens to understand, trust, and engage with AI technologies in ethical and transformative ways.

Alan Turing Innovator of the Year

Named in honour of pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, this award recognises individuals for outstanding contributions to advancing the field of artificial intelligence through groundbreaking research, impactful innovations, and visionary leadership. The recipient embodies Turing's spirit of innovation, intellectual rigour, and commitment to excellence in AI.

AI Champion of the Year

Recognises an individual who has demonstrated exceptional thought leadership, advocacy, and influence in the AI community.

This award celebrates champions and communicators who bring AI to life for wider audiences - including podcasters, influencers, public speakers, or early adopter leaders who inspire others to understand, adopt, and leverage AI responsibly and effectively.