ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

  • Individual entrants must be working in the Uk
  • Entrants for organisations must be working in or carrying out work in the UK. Their products or services must be available for purchase in the UK market.
  • Entrants can nominate themselves.
  • Entrants can nominate other individuals or organisations, however their relationship must be disclosed and evidence referenced.
  • Entrants can enter multiple awards however must offer unique answers for each entry.

Entries are free of charge, to view the questions for each award, click 'enter now' under the award of your choosing.

Event Timeline

Entries open - 5th January 2026

2026 Entries close - 20th March 2026

Finalists announced - Week Commencing 27th April 2026

Finalist event - TBC

Award Ceremony - 9th June at the Royal Lancaster, London

Entry Questions

Please contact info@thenationalaiawards.com

Categories

AI in Business 

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to drive business transformation, operational excellence, and measurable commercial impact. The focus is on how AI has been adopted and integrated within the business to improve processes, decision-making, or customer and commercial outcomes, rather than on the technology development itself.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the adoption.

Judges will evaluate the strategic vision, execution, and tangible outcomes of the AI implementation, including efficiency gains, revenue impact, customer experience improvements, and workforce enablement.

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to transform finance, accounting, or audit functions.

This award celebrates the use of AI to improve financial operations, enhance reporting accuracy, streamline auditing processes, and support data-driven decision-making.

Entrants should demonstrate how AI has driven measurable efficiency, reduced risk, and delivered commercial value, rather than focusing on the technology itself.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Show how AI has been applied to finance, accounting, or audit processes, including automation, risk management, reporting, or compliance improvements. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as efficiency gains, cost reduction, improved accuracy, faster reporting, or enhanced decision-making capabilities.

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to enhance IT operations, cybersecurity, or software development processes.

This award celebrates the use of AI to optimise the software development lifecycle, improve system performance, strengthen security posture, and support innovation in IT and technology environments.

Entrants should focus on how AI has driven measurable improvements, from development efficiency and operational resilience to proactive threat detection and mitigation.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI has been integrated into IT operations, software development, or cybersecurity processes, including automation, threat detection, or lifecycle optimisation. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as improved development efficiency, enhanced security, faster release cycles, or reduced operational risk.

Recognises organisations that have leveraged AI to transform marketing effectiveness and elevate customer experience.

This award celebrates the use of AI to deliver personalised marketing campaigns, enhance customer engagement, and optimise service delivery - including the ability to anticipate and pre-empt customer issues before they arise.

Entrants should demonstrate how AI has created measurable improvements in customer satisfaction, loyalty, and business growth through innovative and responsible implementation.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Entrants should be able to show how AI has been integrated into marketing or customer experience strategies to personalise interactions, predict customer needs, or proactively resolve service issues. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as improved engagement, increased retention, higher satisfaction scores, or tangible business growth resulting from AI-driven initiatives.

Recognises small and medium-sized enterprises that have successfully embraced AI to transform their business operations, drive growth, and gain a competitive edge.

This award celebrates the adoption, implementation, and integration of AI across the organisation demonstrating how AI has enabled business transformation, improved processes, enhanced customer outcomes, or delivered measurable commercial impact.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI has been adopted, implemented, and integrated to transform business operations, processes, or customer engagement within an SME context. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as revenue growth, operational efficiency, improved customer experience, or competitive advantage resulting from AI-driven initiatives.

Recognises organisations that have harnessed AI to enhance sales performance, accelerate business growth, and strengthen customer relationships.

This award celebrates the effective use of AI to optimise lead generation, sales forecasting, client engagement, or business development strategies demonstrating measurable commercial impact.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI has been implemented to improve sales performance, business growth, or customer engagement - including specific examples of tools, processes, or strategies adopted. 
  • Provide clear evidence of measurable outcomes such as increased revenue, improved forecasting accuracy, enhanced lead conversion, or strengthened client relationships.

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to optimise operational efficiency and strengthen supply chain performance.

This award celebrates the use of AI to enhance process automation, improve demand forecasting, optimise inventory management, and streamline logistics - demonstrating tangible operational improvements and commercial benefits.

Entrants should focus on how AI has been applied to drive measurable efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve overall operational resilience.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI has been adopted to enhance operational processes or supply chain management, including automation, forecasting, or logistics optimisation.
  • Provide a case study showing measurable outcomes such as cost savings, efficiency gains, reduced errors, improved delivery performance, or overall operational resilience.

Recognises organisations that have successfully implemented AI to transform human resources and enhance the employee experience.

This award celebrates the use of AI to improve talent acquisition, workforce management, learning and development, and overall colleague engagement.

Entrants should demonstrate how AI has driven measurable improvements in HR processes, employee satisfaction, and organisational performance.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Must be able to show how AI has been applied to HR or people management processes, including recruitment, talent development, workforce planning, or employee engagement. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as improved hiring efficiency, enhanced employee experience, increased retention, or more effective workforce management.

Recognises organisations that have harnessed AI to enhance project delivery, optimise resource allocation, and improve decision-making across programmes.

This award celebrates the use of AI to support planning, risk management, performance tracking, and strategic alignment enabling more efficient, data-driven project execution.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI has been integrated into project or programme management to enhance planning, resource management, risk assessment, or delivery performance. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as improved project efficiency, reduced delays or costs, enhanced forecasting accuracy, or stronger strategic outcomes.

Recognises large organisations that have successfully implemented AI to drive transformation, enhance operational performance, and create measurable business impact.

This award celebrates the adoption, implementation, and integration of AI at scale across the business demonstrating how AI has improved processes, decision-making, customer outcomes, or strategic capabilities.

Entrants should showcase strategic vision, execution excellence, and tangible results achieved through AI.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI has been adopted, implemented, and integrated across the enterprise to transform operations, processes, or customer engagement. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as efficiency gains, revenue growth, improved customer experience, or strategic business impact resulting from AI initiatives.

AI Products 

This award recognises AI products, platforms, and solutions that deliver significant business or commercial impact, while embedding principles of ethics, transparency, and sustainability in their design or deployment.

The focus is on the technology itself, its innovation, scalability, and measurable contribution to organisational performance, rather than the organisation using it.

Entries can come from vendors directly, or vendors may submit jointly with clients to demonstrate real-world deployment and outcomes.

Judges will evaluate the product’s innovation, effectiveness, and business value, including how it drives transformation, improves processes, or enhances growth, while considering responsible AI practices, environmental impact, and social responsibility.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the innovation.

The nominee must demonstrate a transformative AI-driven technology, emerging product, or solution that showcases creativity and originality while addressing significant challenges or unlocking new opportunities across industries or domains. The innovation should include clear and measurable evidence of its impact.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • The nominee must showcase a transformative AI-driven technology, product, or solution that exemplifies creativity and originality, addressing significant challenges or unlocking new opportunities across industries or domains.
  • The innovation should provide measurable evidence of its impact.

Recognises AI platforms, frameworks, and infrastructure solutions that empower organisations to develop, deploy, and scale AI effectively.

This award celebrates products that provide robust tooling, scalable architecture, and monitoring capabilities, enabling other teams or organisations to build AI solutions efficiently while ensuring reliability, performance, and responsible AI operation.

Entries should demonstrate how the platform or infrastructure drives innovation, adoption, and measurable business or operational impact.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how the platform or infrastructure enables the development, deployment, and scaling of AI solutions, including tooling, frameworks, or capabilities for other teams or organisations. 
  • Show evidence of effective monitoring and management of AI in operation, ensuring reliability, performance, and responsible use, along with measurable business or operational outcomes.

Recognises AI products or solutions that deliver exceptional impact within a specific industry, solving unique challenges, optimising processes, or driving measurable business outcomes.

This award celebrates innovations that are tailored to the needs of a particular sector, demonstrating scalability, effectiveness, and real-world deployment while embedding principles of ethics, transparency, and responsible AI use.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how the AI solution addresses industry-specific challenges, improves processes, or enhances decision-making within the targeted sector.
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as operational improvements, revenue impact, cost savings, or customer experience enhancements resulting from deployment.

This award celebrates a pioneering SME that is making a significant impact in the field of AI. It recognises innovative young companies that demonstrate exceptional growth potential, creativity, and the ability to solve real-world challenges through AI-driven solutions.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Entrants must qualify as an SME, employing fewer than 250 staff and/or meeting the relevant turnover thresholds for a small or medium-sized enterprise.
  • Demonstrate how the company’s scale and resources have shaped the development and delivery of the AI solution, showing efficient use of limited capacity, agility, innovation, or growth momentum characteristic of an SME.

Recognises AI products or solutions that have been successfully implemented at scale within large organisations, delivering measurable business impact and operational transformation.

This award celebrates solutions that demonstrate robustness, scalability, and effectiveness in solving complex enterprise challenges while adhering to principles of ethical, transparent, and responsible AI.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Entrants must qualify as an enterprise-level organisation, employing over 250 staff and/or exceeding the relevant turnover thresholds for a large business.
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes such as efficiency gains, cost savings, revenue impact, or enhanced customer or employee experience resulting from deployment.

Recognising outstanding AI-powered products or technologies that have demonstrated exceptional innovation, usability, and impact in addressing specific needs or solving real-world problems.

The recipient of this award will be recognised as the overall best in the AI Product category - the very best of the best.

This is not an award that can be entered directly; eligibility is limited to entrants of the other AI Product awards. From among those entries, the winner will be selected as the ultimate standout within the category.

This item is not available

Public Sector, Safety & Ethics 

This category celebrates leadership in the responsible use of artificial intelligence to serve society. It honours the individuals, teams, and organisations driving meaningful impact for citizens, communities, and the public good - whether through ethical AI practices, the advancement of AI in law enforcement, or the transformation of government and public sector services.

Celebrating excellence and innovation in the use of artificial intelligence within government agencies, public sector organisations, and civic institutions. Recipients of this award demonstrate exemplary initiatives, policies, or projects leveraging AI to enhance public services, improve governance, and address societal challenges effectively.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Open to government agencies, public institutions, and organisations leveraging AI to enhance governance, service delivery, and policy-making.

Recognises individuals, teams or organisations demonstrating outstanding leadership in the ethical, safe and inclusive deployment of AI.

This award celebrates initiatives that embed safety, transparency, fairness, accountability and diversity‑equity‑inclusion into the design, governance and use of AI - including proactive measures to avoid gender, racial or other protected‑group biases, reduce harm and benefit society.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI has been developed or governed with strong safeguards for safety, ethics and fairness - including measures to mitigate gender bias, racial bias or other discrimination, ensure transparency, human oversight and accountability. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable impact for society, communities or stakeholders - for example improved access, reduced harm, enhanced trust, inclusive outcomes and positive social benefit resulting from responsibly deployed AI in a public, civic or organisational setting.

A closed award recognising exceptional contributions to AI safety and security within policing. Chosen by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Commissioner, this award recognises systems that demonstrate innovation, effectiveness in crime reduction, ethical data use, community engagement, adaptability, accuracy, interoperability, legal compliance, resilience to adversarial attacks and bias, and sustained impact.

These systems should exhibit creativity in addressing policing challenges, measurable crime reduction, ethical data practices, community trust building, adaptability to changing circumstances, high accuracy, seamless integration with existing technologies, legal compliance, robustness against adversarial attacks and biases, and long-term sustainability in supporting law enforcement objectives.

This item is not available

Education & Skills 

This category recognises the impact of AI in education and skills development. It celebrates innovative applications of AI that enhance educational experiences, foster personalised learning, and improve outcomes for students, educators, and institutions. Entries in this category can showcase initiatives, programmes, or organisations, as well as academic institutions such as schools, colleges and universities.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the adoption.

Recognising initiatives, products, solutions, programmes, or organisations that leverage artificial intelligence to enhance learning outcomes and improve educational experiences across all levels of education - including but not limited to schools, colleges, universities, professional training, workplace learning, and lifelong education.

The recipient of this award demonstrates exemplary efforts in deploying AI technologies to personalise learning, promote accessibility, and empower both educators and learners in diverse educational settings.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Entrants must demonstrate how AI technologies are being effectively deployed to enhance learning outcomes, personalise education, and promote accessibility for all learners. 
  • Provide clear evidence of measurable impact in improving educational experiences or empowering educators and learners through AI-driven solutions.

This award celebrates exceptional early-career professionals who are making a meaningful contribution to the field of AI. Inspired by the pioneering spirit of Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley, it recognises emerging talent who demonstrate creativity, ambition, and the potential to become future leaders in technology.

The award aims to spotlight individuals who may not yet see themselves as industry leaders but are already driving innovation, shaping impactful AI work, and showing remarkable promise at this formative stage of their careers.

Entrants of this award can include students, emerging talent, career changers, those returning to work - individuals who are driving measurable impact.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Entrants should be in the early stages of their career in technology, typically with less than five years’ experience in an AI-related role or the broader technology sector. 
  • Applicants must demonstrate individual contribution and impact, showing how their work has advanced AI innovation, supported teams, or driven meaningful outcomes within their organisation or community.

Recognises an individual, organisation, or programme that has demonstrated outstanding achievement in teaching, promoting, or advancing AI knowledge and skills.

This award celebrates excellence in AI education across schools, universities, apprenticeships, and organisational learning programmes, as well as initiatives that enhance AI literacy and inspire learners at all levels.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how AI education has been delivered effectively across schools, universities, apprenticeships, organisations, or programmes, fostering learning, engagement, and skill development. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable outcomes, including improvements in AI literacy, student or learner engagement, skill acquisition, or broader educational impact.

AI Leaders 

This category recognises the individuals who are shaping the future of artificial intelligence through vision, influence, and innovation.

It celebrates those who inspire others, advance understanding, and drive meaningful change across the AI landscape - from communicators and champions who bring AI to life for wider audiences, to pioneers whose groundbreaking work pushes the boundaries of innovation, and those whose lifetime contributions have left a lasting impact on the field.

Vendors/providers may submit joint entries with their clients, but the spotlight remains on the business organisation leading the adoption.

Named in honour of pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, this award recognises individuals for outstanding contributions to advancing the field of artificial intelligence through groundbreaking research, impactful innovations, and visionary leadership. The recipient embodies Turing's spirit of innovation, intellectual rigour, and commitment to excellence in AI.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • The nominee must showcase a groundbreaking AI innovation that addresses a significant challenge or creates new opportunities, demonstrating originality, scalability, and measurable impact.
  • The innovation should uphold ethical AI principles. 
  • The nominee should highlight successful collaborations (e.g., with industry, academia, or public sectors) and the influence of their innovation in shaping AI trends, standards, or practices.

Recognising individuals who have made exceptional, long-term contributions to the AI industry over a period of 10 years or more. promoting AI literacy, advocacy, and the responsible adoption of AI, this penultimate award celebrates a career of achievement and outstanding impact.

The recipient should demonstrate unwavering dedication to raising awareness, fostering meaningful dialogue, and empowering citizens to understand, trust, and engage with AI technologies in ethical and transformative ways.

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  • Any individual who has worked in the AI industry for 10 years or longer, whether in academia, industry, government, or non-profit sectors.
  • Must be able to prove success in leadership positions advancing ethical, responsible and impactful AI practices.
  • Has made significant contributions to the AI field through groundbreaking research, initiatives, or projects that have created meaningful change or inspired others.

Recognises an individual who has demonstrated exceptional thought leadership, advocacy, and influence in the AI community.

This award celebrates champions and communicators who bring AI to life for wider audiences - including podcasters, influencers, public speakers, or early adopter leaders who inspire others to understand, adopt, and leverage AI responsibly and effectively.

This category is open to B2B and B2C.
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  • Demonstrate how the individual has championed AI, communicated its value, or influenced adoption through platforms such as podcasts, social media, public speaking, or organisational leadership. 
  • Provide evidence of measurable impact on awareness, understanding, or adoption of AI within communities, organisations, or broader audiences.