Key takeaways
- Leeds is the UK’s most AI-curious city, the highest interest per capita, above London, Manchester and Birmingham.
- AI curiosity has decentralised: the South Coast (Bournemouth, Plymouth, Portsmouth) and East Midlands (Leicester, Northampton, Coventry) outrank traditional tech hubs.
- London generates the most total interest but sits mid-table per capita, interest is no longer concentrated in the capital.
- If your customers are in a high-curiosity city and you’re invisible in AI answers, you’re not in the conversation.
Use of generative AI like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity is growing, but adoption isn’t happening at the same rate everywhere. We mapped AI curiosity across 35 major UK towns and cities to show where consumers are switching to AI search the fastest.
For businesses in a high-curiosity city, a higher share of consumers already use AI search to make buying decisions. If a brand isn’t visible in AI answers, it’s never in the conversation.
Key findings
Leeds ranks as the most AI-curious city in the UK, the highest interest per capita nationwide, above larger hubs like London, Manchester and Birmingham. For Leeds businesses, visibility in AI search is critical.
The South Coast is a major hotspot: Bournemouth, Plymouth and Portsmouth all rank in the top 10, with higher per-capita AI adoption than most of the UK’s primary economic centres.
Leicester, Northampton and Coventry score higher than traditional tech cities. Edinburgh and Nottingham rank near the bottom despite their academic and tech reputations.
Bristol reinforces its position as a top performer, one of the few cities where high curiosity aligns with an established tech reputation.
London generates the highest total interest thanks to population size, but sits mid-table per capita, confirming AI interest has decentralised across the UK.
Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh all show surprisingly low curiosity for their size and tech ecosystems, with Edinburgh near the bottom of the 35-city index.
City leaderboard
The 35 UK towns and cities ranked by AI curiosity (interest per capita).
Methodology
What data did we use?
We compared how often people search for AI tools relative to the size of the local population. The calculation, by city: average monthly Google search volume for “ChatGPT” + “Gemini” ÷ population.
Data sources
- Population: Google Keyword Planner (ads-reachable audience)
- Search volume: Google Keyword Planner (average monthly searches)
- Period: Q1 2026
A note on population data
Population figures represent Google Ads-reachable audiences, not census residents. The metric is directionally useful for comparing relative interest between cities, not for estimating absolute adoption.
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About the author
Will Tombs
Founder, Buried
Will Tombs is the Founder of Buried. He’s an award-winning growth marketing specialist and expert in SEO and GEO, with over 12 years’ experience, leading digital strategy for startups that were acquired, international enterprise retailers, and his own e-commerce businesses.