~ Generative AI content usage among UK learners grew nearly 90% year-on-year ~
~ AI and Machine Learning grew 51% in the UK, while Data now accounts for nearly a third of UK platform usage ~
London, United Kingdom - 2 July, 2026 – New research from O’Reilly, a leading source for insight-driven learning on technology and business, suggests that UK tech professionals are building on existing programming expertise to adopt new AI-powered tools and ways of learning.
Analysis of O’Reilly platform usage between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026 shows Generative AI content usage grew 89% in the UK. AI and Machine Learning as a whole grew 51% in the UK, while Data now accounts for 31% of all UK platform usage, making it the largest topic on the platform.
“Our data captures a workforce that is moving quickly towards AI,” said Alexia Pedersen, SVP International at O’Reilly. “UK tech professionals are not simply experimenting with Generative AI; they are making it a core part of their learning priorities. Many already have years of programming experience, which puts them in a strong position to adopt AI tools confidently and apply them in meaningful ways.”
AI is changing how developers learn
While usage of some established programming topics declined year-on-year, O’Reilly cautions against interpreting this as a collapse in coding skills. O’Reilly believes the data instead reflects a broader shift in how experienced developers learn.
AI-powered coding assistants and chatbots are now embedded within the development environments where everyday work happens. As technical professionals encounter challenges and solve problems, they’re learning the coding skills that they may have previously dedicated formal training time to. These workers are now free to spend this training time focusing on the rapidly evolving AI landscape, learning while doing, and on building skills such as Generative AI.
Programming Fundamentals declined 73% in the UK year-on-year, while Agile (down 31%) and Git (down 20%) – two topics associated with established software engineering workflows – also saw declines. Rather than signalling a loss in coding capability, O’Reilly believes these trends reflect experienced developers relying more on AI-assisted workflows for everyday development. Meanwhile, Natural Language Processing sessions grew 117% year-on-year, pointing to strong engagement with one of the most applied areas of AI development.
O’Reilly cautions that AI fluency should always complement, rather than replace, foundational programming knowledge. This is particularly important for early-career developers, as overreliance on AI tools can weaken the judgement needed to review, debug, and improve code.
“What this data captures is a workforce making active choices about where their time goes”, said Pedersen. “UK tech professionals aren’t casually browsing AI content – they’re incorporating technical learning into new ways of working, building AI agents, testing different approaches, and exploring how these tools can improve productivity and outcomes. What’s important is that many of these learners aren’t starting from scratch. They already have strong programming foundations, which gives them the confidence to adopt AI quickly and apply it in meaningful ways.”
UK employers still value the fundamentals
While AI is changing how developers learn, it is not changing what employers expect. React, Node.js, and Java remain among the most sought-after technologies in UK job advertisements, while cloud certifications continue to be valued by employers as evidence of technical capability.
And demand for good engineering practice remains clear. Clean Code learning grew 19% in the UK year-on-year, while C# increased 17%, suggesting that learners are still investing in practical coding capability even as AI becomes a larger focus.
“The UK tech workforce isn’t turning its back on programming. It’s building on years of engineering expertise to take advantage of the opportunities AI creates. That’s exactly what we’d expect from experienced developers. The challenge now is making sure the next generation develops those same foundations before relying too heavily on AI.” Pedersen concluded. “AI will make great developers even better, but it can’t replace the technical judgement that comes from understanding how software really works.”
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