The majority of UK homecare providers have now adopted AI, but the rules governing its use have not kept pace, according to new research published today by homecare technology company Birdie.
The report, Moving faster than the rules: AI, care quality and the homecare sector in 2026, surveyed 122 homecare providers across the UK. It found that 70% are already using AI in some form, rising to a projected 85% within a year.
Crucially, providers are not using AI only for back-office admin – around half are using it to help shape care itself, including care plans and risk assessments.
The results are striking: 76% of providers said AI had improved the quality of care they deliver, and among those re-inspected since adopting it, 59% saw their CQC rating improve.
But the research surfaces a clear tension at the heart of this progress. While the majority of providers are using AI, only 66% have any formal policy governing how they do so. The tools, in other words, arrived before the guardrails.
More concerning still, AI adoption is largely dominated by general-purpose consumer tools rather than software built for care: ChatGPT (used by 63%), Microsoft Copilot (47%), Google Gemini (38%) and writing assistants such as Grammarly (35%). These are the least governed tools in use, typically adopted informally and without the audit trail a purpose-built care system would carry.
A widening divide
The report also warns of a growing two-tier sector. AI use jumps from around 15% among the smallest agencies to roughly 80% among those supporting 141 or more clients. Smaller agencies told Birdie they hold back through uncertainty about which tools to trust, not a lack of interest. If the benefits keep concentrating at the top, the sector risks emerging from this period more unequal than it entered it.
The timing matters. The Care Quality Commission is now piloting sector-specific assessment frameworks for AI, with consultation ongoing. For providers using AI to support decisions about vulnerable people, governance is fast becoming a matter of basic regulatory readiness rather than best practice.
Max Parmentier, CEO and co-founder of Birdie, said: “In the nearly ten years since we started Birdie, homecare has already gone through one technological transformation in going from paper to digital. It’s now on to the second with the rise of AI, and it’s no surprise that homecare has jumped on the opportunity – this sector never fails to find a way through whatever challenges are thrown at it.
“However, the fact that most providers are relying on general-purpose tools that were never built for care leaves real risks exposed. We hope this report shows that the tipping point for AI in homecare has long since passed and that the potential it has is transformative – it’s now time to give it the support, guidance and strategy it needs.”
What the report calls for
The report argues that regulators should issue guidance built specifically for homecare and equip inspectors to assess how AI is governed in practice, and calls for support to reach the providers least able to access it on their own, so that adopting AI well does not depend on size. And it argues that, as the frameworks that will define the next decade take shape, homecare needs a clear and organised voice in that process – one grounded in evidence rather than anecdote.
The full report is available to download at https://www.birdie.care/resources/ebook/ai-in-care-whitepaper-2026
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