Charities’ adoption of AI has continued to rise but trust issues over its use have increased, according to new figures.
The Charity Digital Skills Report 2026 reveals that 79% of voluntary organisations routinely use the technology, up from 76% a year earlier, while those with a “lack of trust” in AI tools have risen to 35% from 15% last year.
“This is one of the most notable changes in this year’s data, suggesting that despite the growth in AI usage, charities do not fully trust the tools,” the report reads.
Trust is a bigger concern for large charities (44%), compared to 32% of small charities, the report adds.
The report also says that “a lack of trust in AI tools is a bigger concern for charities supporting specific marginalised communities”.
Meanwhile, 60% of all charities that took part in the research said that sector-wide AI training was essential to future success.
Boards and CEOs lag behind tech growth
A record 807 charity representatives participated in this year’s report, with 71% of responses coming from charities with incomes up to £1m.
Overall, some 81% of respondents said their charities had progressed digitally over the past year, up from 63% a year earlier.
However, only 28% of charities that responded have a digital strategy in place, a drop from 44% last year.
According to the report, a third of boards and a quarter of chief executives have “poor” AI skills.
Some 46% of charities do not have a trustee with digital skills, it adds.
Progress on such skills has been flagged as a concern with 36% of charities expressing that they want their boards to learn more to progress.
Despite this, the proportion of charities stating that building the skills of staff, volunteers and leaders is a priority, is up to 59% from 43% last year.
Training was identified as the priority funding area – some 44% of charities stating it is of critical need.
The same percentage of charities are taking no action to manage AI risks and just 36% of small charities have an AI policy.
In global majority-led charities, 26% see lack of trust in AI tools as a barrier to adoption.
The report also warns that “deepening inequalities” will occur if funders and support organisations do not define their roles in supporting AI adoption among smaller and marginalised charities.
Support for charities urged
Zoe Amar, Charity Digital Skills Report co-founder, said: “The sector is changing rapidly and is poised for transformation; provided it receives the support and investment it needs at this critical moment.
“Now is the time for funders and partners to step up and help charities harness digital and AI for greater impact.”
Will Ranjan-Churchill, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation technology lead, said that the 2026 report highlighted tensions in charity AI adoption.
“As with a lot of tech, it's those on the margins that are bearing the brunt of these tensions.
“62% of global majority-led charities lean on AI for grant writing support, and yet nearly half of those same charities cite a lack of trust in AI as a major concern.”
Ranjan-Churchill added that despite the 79% uptake of AI, a third of charities remain unable to use it effectively.
Nissa Ramsey, Charity Digital Skills Report co-founder, said: “While many leaders are optimistic about AI’s potential, staff and trustees are noticeably more cautious, and concerns about trust have more than doubled since last year.
“AI has the potential to save resources and increase capacity. The challenge now is to build confidence in these tools.”
