Artificial intelligence is moving from hype to deployment across UK business. Government-commissioned research shows adoption rising steadily, and the Office for National Statistics has found a growing share of businesses now using AI. The Lloyds AI Game Changer of the Year Award celebrates the businesses turning AI into real-world impact.
This guide explains what the judges look for and how to build a winning AI entry.
About the award
This award recognises AI solutions and applications that demonstrate the highest levels of innovation, impact and customer value, enabling organisations to improve productivity, delivery and commercial performance. It rewards genuine impact, not AI for its own sake.
Who can enter?
The award is open to any UK-based business built around an AI solution. Judges want to see what is genuinely innovative about your AI and the measurable difference it has made. Read the full criteria on the AI Game Changer category page before you enter.
How the award is judged
Entries are scored against four weighted criteria. The weightings tell you where to concentrate your entry, so plan your word count to match them:
|
Criterion |
Weighting |
|
Leadership & Innovation |
30% |
|
Employee & Customer Engagement |
25% |
|
Financial Performance & Growth |
25% |
|
Purpose Beyond Profit |
20% |
How to win, criterion by criterion
Leadership & innovation (30%)
This is the highest-weighted area, so lead with it. Explain clearly what is innovative or game-changing about your AI solution, the problem it solves, and the measurable impact it has had on your customers or industry. Avoid jargon, and show how your leadership and culture turned an idea into a deployed, valuable product.
Employee & customer engagement (25%)
Show how you built and retained the team behind the technology, and how your AI delivered value to customers, with adoption, retention and satisfaction data. Demonstrate growth in your customer base or client value over the last 18 months.
Financial performance & growth (25%)
Evidence the commercial results: AI-specific metrics such as adoption, subscriptions and client base alongside revenue, margin and performance against plan, benchmarked against peers, with a plan to sustain growth.
Purpose beyond profit (20%)
Explain how your mission and values align with your technology and growth, your approach to responsible and ethical AI and ESG impact, and how diversity and inclusion improved attraction and retention of employees and clients.
Evidence beats adjectives
Across every criterion, the same principle decides the score: judges reward proof and ignore assertion. Phrases like “market-leading” or “world-class” carry no marks on their own, while a number, a trend and an independent voice carry all of them. For each claim you make, attach a figure, show the journey with a starting point and an end point, and corroborate it with customer quotes, testimonials or third-party data. A good test is to read each sentence and ask: would a judge who knows nothing about us be able to score this? If not, add the evidence.
The finalist presentation
Judging happens in two stages. Your written entry is scored first, and if you are shortlisted you will be invited to London to present to a panel of four judges, with around 20 minutes to present and add colour to your entry and about 25 minutes of questions and answers. Prepare for both: the written entry gets you into the room, and the presentation wins the award. Build the presentation around your highest-weighted criteria rather than repeating the entry, bring people who can answer detailed questions, and rehearse for the toughest questions on your numbers. See our guide on how to write a winning awards entry for the full method.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Explaining the AI technology but not the measurable impact it delivered.
- Under-investing in the leadership and innovation section, which carries the most marks.
- Using technical jargon a non-specialist judge cannot follow.
- Ignoring responsible and ethical AI, which judges increasingly expect.
- Leaving the entry to the last minute rather than drafting and reviewing properly.
Your quick pre-submission checklist
- Have I mapped my word count to the weightings, with the most on the highest-weighted criteria?
- Is every important claim backed by a number, a trend or an independent voice?
- Have I answered every part of every question in the category criteria?
- Have I shown both my track record and a credible plan for sustained growth?
- Has someone outside the team read it and understood it without explanation?
Ready to enter?
The AI Game Changer Award rewards AI that delivers real, measurable impact. Build your entry around the weightings, prove the difference your solution made, and prepare to present. For eligibility and process, see the entry FAQ.
Entries for the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards close at midnight on Friday 3 July. Start your AI Game Changer entry today.
