Google is strengthening its artificial intelligence (AI) business in the UK, with a series of announcements aimed at expanding its presence in the region. On Monday, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, and Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, appeared alongside customers BT and WPP to outline the company's plans.

The tech giant is expanding its UK data residency to include Agentspace, a platform for building AI agents for enterprises. This move will enable businesses to host their AI agents locally, addressing concerns around data control and usage. Additionally, Google is introducing more financial incentives for AI startups, offering up to £280,000 in Google Cloud credits to those joining its new UK accelerator. The company is also expanding its AI skills training programs.

Agentspace, launched in beta in December 2024, is a key component of Google's AI strategy. The platform allows enterprises to build AI agents that can assist with work and interface better with customers. One of its notable features is NotebookLM, a service that can ingest large amounts of information and summarize it, making it suitable for large business environments. Other features include multimodal search and the building of AI agents using generative AI.

The expansion of UK data residency is a significant development, as it addresses concerns around data control and usage. "They will have full control to keep the data where they need it," Kurian said at the event. This move is likely to attract more businesses to work with Google, rather than its competitors, to build their future AI services.

BT and WPP, longtime partners of Google Cloud, have already inked development and data partnerships with the company. They are early adopters of Google's newer releases, such as Imagen, Veo, and Gemini. BT CEO Allison Kirby highlighted the potential of AI in improving customer service and detecting phone scams, with plans to "quietly reinvent all our operations" using AI.

The news comes as Google is on a development tear with its AI business, having recently launched a host of new Gemini developments, including Gemini 2.0, which enables multimodal generation and understanding in real-time. The UK government is also making a significant push to promote AI development, with plans to demonstrate the adoption of more generative AI services across various departments.

The government's strategy is to position the UK as a hub for AI development, with commitments to AI regional zones that will include data center capacity and regulatory changes to facilitate the use of more data. Interestingly, the government has named OpenAI and Anthropic, two rivals to Google in the area of generative AI services, as key partners in its AI initiatives.

Google's announcements, although late to the party, could pave the way for more collaboration with the government and other industry players. As the UK aims to catch the AI economic wave, Google's expanded presence in the region is likely to play a significant role in shaping the country's AI landscape.