UK GDP rose 0.4% in July, ONS cites AI as major growth driver

The UK Office for National Statistics reported that GDP grew 0.4% in July, above expectations, and cited AI as a major driver of the country's summer growth spurt. The sealed summary states that even the most optimistic City of London forecasts for July had the economy expanding 0.1%, making the 0.4% print a material upside surprise. The ONS attribution to AI links the reading to the technology sector's contribution to measured output. The summary does not break out how much of the growth came from AI-related activity, nor does it specify which subsectors or investment categories the statistics agency counted.