British consumers least likely to hand data to AI when uncomfortable

As businesses race to roll out AI assistants and agents, new research from Usercentrics reveals a blind spot behind consumer adoption: some of the access being granted to AI is coming from people who are uncomfortable giving it.

Globally, just 7% of consumers are fully comfortable granting AI access to their data without conditions, while 16% say they would grant access despite feeling uncomfortable – meaning reluctant permission is more than twice as common as unconditional comfort.

Usercentrics calls this “resigned consent”: a ‘yes’ that masks underlying discomfort with the access being granted. The latest findings from Usercentrics’ State of Digital Trust 2026 reveal British consumers are less likely to give that reluctant yes.

11% of UK consumers demonstrate resigned consent, compared with 16% globally, the second-lowest rate of any market surveyed after the US at 10%. Germany sits at the other end of the scale, where almost a quarter (24%) grant AI access despite discomfort. But that does not mean British consumers are more comfortable giving AI access.

Across the six categories tested, 40% of UK consumers on average either refuse an AI access request or say they would stop using the AI entirely if that access was required.

Instead, the findings suggest British consumers are more likely to turn discomfort into a ‘no’, while in other markets that same discomfort is more likely to remain hidden behind an acceptance.

The findings point to a growing challenge for businesses rolling out AI: access rates alone can show how many consumers have said yes, but not how comfortable they were making that decision – or how strong that permission really is.

An access rate tells a business how many people said yes to AI — it can’t tell them how many felt comfortable saying it, and that distinction matters. Reluctant acceptance is a weak foundation for long-term adoption. The lesson isn’t to chase the highest access rate, it’s to build trust that doesn’t need resignation to get a yes.

– Tilman Harmeling, Staff Strategy & Market Intelligence, Usercentrics. Britons draw the line at their finances The sensitivity of the information being requested has a significant impact on UK consumers’ willingness to grant AI access.

Resistance is lowest when AI asks to access more everyday tools, with 32% of UK consumers refusing access to work tools or saying they would stop using the AI altogether if that access was required, compared with 33% globally. This rises to 34% for health data, 37% for email and calendars, 40% for company data and 45% for files and documents.

Financial information emerges as the clearest red line. More than half (53%) of UK consumers refuse AI access to their financial accounts or would stop using the AI entirely if it required that access, compared with 49% globally. The UK figure is among the highest of the seven markets surveyed, behind Sweden (68%), the Netherlands (63%) and the US (54%).

When Brits say ‘yes’, they mean it The difference between the UK and other markets becomes particularly clear among consumers who do grant access. At 11%, the UK has the second-lowest average rate of resigned consent of any market surveyed, compared with 16% globally and 24% in Germany. The US is the only country lower, at 10%.

UK consumers aren’t afraid to say no to AI access. But when they do say yes, they’re less likely than most other markets to do so reluctantly. In Germany, the opposite pattern emerges: 24% of consumers grant access despite feeling uncomfortable, more than twice the UK rate, while just 16% refuse outright, compared with 24% in the UK.

For businesses racing to implement AI, these findings point to a simple truth: adoption is accelerating, but comfort varies by market, and a ‘yes’ can never be treated as a given. The organisations that will thrive in this next wave will be those who seek to understand, and earn, that yes..

The organisations that will thrive in this next wave will be those who seek to understand, and earn, the yes.