More than a third of charity representatives are warning that their chief executives have “poor Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills knowledge and confidence”, according to this year’s annual Charity Digital Skills report.

In addition, more than two in five say their board of trustees is struggling with AI.

Charity leaders are being urged to keep up to date with emerging trends, technology and AI tools, according to two in five of the survey's respondents. Just over a third are calling on their leaders to better understand the risks and opportunities of emerging technology.

The findings are similar to the previous year “showing that this need has not changed”, according to the report.

While three in four charities are using AI this includes only 2% using it at a strategic level. Meanwhile just under one in four of those using AI are actively deploying its tools with more than half at the stage of “exploring, piloting and testing”.

The report notes that the number of those who are responding to the “opportunities and challenges” around AI has almost doubled from 22% last year to 42% this year.

However, the report warns that a third say “they don’t know how to get started with AI”.

Half of respondents said their charity is finding it a challenge to keep up to date with emerging AI trends, two in five says they are “poor at this” and just under one in ten do not keep track of trends at all.

Common uses of AI among charities

Most common ways charities are using AI include administration and project management, which is up from a third of charities last year to just under a half this year.

More than a third are using AI in grant fundraising, a proportion that increases among small charities to more than two in five.

While less than one in five were using AI in communications and fundraising last year, this has increased to almost two in five among small charities and more than one in four among large charities.

The report has been published by among others Zoe Amar Digital, Microsoft, Think Social Tech and Catalyst.

“It is concerning that so many charities rate their CEO and board’s AI skills as poor, with many reporting that their AI governance is lacking,” said Zoe Amar of Zoe Amar Digital, and Nissa Ramsay, of Think Social Tech.

“This may well improve in 2026, with half of charities prioritising developing their strategy for digital, data and AI.”

---