Digital inclusion is often framed as yesterday’s problem - box checked by broadband rollout and smartphone adoption. At Transform, we believe this assumption is misplaced. While connectivity in the UK is high, digital exclusion remains a persistent and evolving issue. As we navigate the rapid emergence of AI-enabled services, the risks of exclusion are increasing.
The challenge is no longer simply to get people online. It’s about how we support people to meaningfully participate in a digital, data-driven and increasingly AI-enabled society?
Why digital exclusion is about more than just being offline
Digital exclusion isn’t just the absence of an internet connection. It describes a growing class of people who cannot reliably access, use, or benefit from digital services essential to modern life, from healthcare and benefits to banking, education, and employment.
From our work in the sector, we see exclusion as a multi-dimensional web of barriers:
- Access and affordability: Lacking suitable devices or facing data poverty, where the costs of broadband or mobile data are unsustainable.
- Skills and confidence: Missing the essential digital skills needed to navigate services safely.
- Trust and motivation: A fear of scams, a lack of confidence, or a feeling that digital systems are ‘not for me’.
The scale of the task is significant. The UK still has an estimated 1.8 million adults who do not use the internet at all, while 16% of adults lack Foundation Level digital skills. These gaps disproportionately affect older adults, low-income households, social housing tenants, and people with disabilities. Digital exclusion mirrors and reinforces broader social inequality.
The government has renewed its focus through the Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps (2025), outlining a more coordinated approach across departments. Key initiatives like the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, the AI Skills Boost (aiming to upskill 10 million workers by 2030), and improved usability via GOV.UK One Login are vital steps. However, at Transform, we recognise that this ecosystem of effort must address the structural nature of the gap, not just the technology gap. Exclusion persists because it is woven into the fabric of social delivery.
Building a foundation for trust and participation
AI has brought both opportunities and risks to the inclusion agenda. On one hand, it could widen the divide. As services become AI-enabled, a new AI literacy gap risks adding a new inequality to existing skills gaps. If AI systems are poorly designed, biased, or mandatory with no alternatives, they will increase distrust among already marginalised groups.
On the other hand, AI has significant potential for inclusion. Used responsibly, it can:
- Improve accessibility through speech-to-text and adaptive interfaces.
- Provide step-by-step guidance for complex processes and personalised learning.
- Support frontline workers to deliver more tailored, human assistance.
AI could reduce barriers, but only if inclusion is embedded by design. Without intentional action, it’s more likely to accelerate existing disparities.
To ensure AI becomes an inclusion accelerator rather than an exclusion amplifier, we believe five pillars must guide our collective strategy:
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Foundational AI literacy: Understanding AI must move from a specialist skill to a universal one, integrated into workplace training and community learning for those with low baseline confidence.
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Investment in fundamentals: Sustainable funding for local support networks is essential. AI cannot bridge a divide where basic access and devices are missing.
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Participatory service design: Services must be designed with, not just for, the people who use them. This means co-designing with disabled people, carers, and minority communities, and testing on older devices or low-bandwidth conditions.
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Trust: We must address issues like bias in a transparent manner. Trust is a precondition for adoption; without clear explanation and human escalation routes, even the best systems will be underused.
- Shared accountability: Digital inclusion should be treated as core infrastructure that underpins economic growth and public service reform.
Improving digital inclusion in the age of AI demands strategic alignment between digital and inclusion agendas, robust data to enable effective targeting of interventions, and responsible AI governance embedded in transformation programmes.
As AI reshapes how services operate, digital inclusion must move from the margins to the centre of transformation strategy. Technology will continue to transform society, but it’s up to us whether that transformation expands participation or widens the exclusion gap. With the right combination of leadership and inclusive design, we can bring people together to embrace the future.
If you're interested in understanding what's Transform's framework when it comes to design for the edges inwards, you should check out our most recent whitepaper "Designing for the edges to benefit the whole".