Data report
19.9% of European companies use AI, and 79.1% use none of it at all
Eurostat records AI use at 19.9% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees in 2025. Among enterprises with 250 or more staff it is 55.0%, against 17.0% for those with 10 to 49. Text analysis is the most common technology and marketing is the most common purpose; the reason most often given for not adopting is a lack of in-house expertise, not cost.
Key takeaways
5 findings- 0119.9% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees used at least one AI technology in 2025.
- 02Large enterprises are at 55.0%, roughly 3.2 times the rate of the smallest bracket.
- 0312.9% use two or more AI technologies, so most adopters are running a single use case.
- 04Lack of relevant expertise is the most cited barrier, given by 7.8% of all enterprises, ahead of cost at 4.2%.
- 05Denmark leads the EU at 42.0%, with Finland at 37.8% and Sweden at 35.0%.
How many European companies use AI
Data points 1–7- 01
19.9% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees used at least one AI technology in 2025. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 02
79.1% use none of the AI technologies Eurostat asks about. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 03
12.9% use at least two AI technologies. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 04
8.3% use at least three. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 05
11.1% have at some point considered using AI, which is a smaller group than the one already using it. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 06
16.2% both use AI technologies and buy cloud services. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 07
13.8% use AI and perform data analytics. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
Which AI technologies they use
Data points 8–15- 08
11.8% of EU enterprises use AI to analyse written language, such as text mining. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 09
9.6% use AI that generates images, video or audio. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 10
8.8% use AI that generates written or spoken language. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 11
7.2% use AI that converts spoken language into machine-readable form. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 12
5.3% use AI to automate workflows or assist with decision-making. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 13
5.1% use machine learning, including deep learning, for data analysis. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 14
3.8% use AI to identify objects or people in images. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 15
1.4% use AI to control the physical movement of machines, such as autonomous robots. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
What they use it for
Data points 16–23- 16
6.9% of EU enterprises use AI for marketing or sales. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 17
6.2% use it to organise business administration or management processes. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 18
4.6% use it for accounting, controlling or financial management. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 19
4.1% use it in production processes. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 20
3.9% use it for ICT security. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 21
3.8% use it for research, development or innovation. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 22
1.2% use it for logistics. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 23
14.6% use AI for at least one of these purposes, and only 7.9% for two or more. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
Why the rest are not adopting
Data points 24–31- 24
7.8% of EU enterprises say they do not use AI because they lack the relevant expertise in-house. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 25
5.9% cite a lack of clarity about the legal consequences. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 26
5.8% cite concerns about violating data protection rules. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 27
4.8% cite difficulty with the availability or quality of the data needed. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 28
4.6% cite incompatibility with their existing systems. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 29
4.2% say the costs seem too high. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 30
2.7% cite ethical considerations. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 31
2.0% say AI is simply not useful for their enterprise. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
AI adoption by company size
Data points 32–38- 32
55.0% of EU enterprises with 250 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 33
30.4% of EU enterprises with 50 to 249 employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 34
17.0% of EU enterprises with 10 to 49 employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 35
44.0% of EU enterprises with 250 or more employees use two or more AI technologies. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 36
20.8% of EU enterprises with 50 to 249 employees use two or more AI technologies. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 37
10.6% of EU enterprises with 10 to 49 employees use two or more AI technologies. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 38
The gap between the largest and smallest size class is 38.0 percentage points. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
Where AI adoption is highest
Data points 39–48- 39
Denmark: 42.0% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 40
Finland: 37.8% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 41
Sweden: 35.0% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 42
Belgium: 34.5% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 43
Luxembourg: 33.6% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 44
Netherlands: 33.2% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 45
Austria: 29.9% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 46
Norway: 28.9% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 47
Germany: 26.0% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 48
Estonia: 23.4% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
Where AI adoption is lowest
Data points 49–53- 49
Romania: 5.2% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 50
Türkiye: 7.4% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 51
Poland: 8.4% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 52
Bulgaria: 8.6% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
- 53
Greece: 8.9% of enterprises with 10 or more employees use at least one AI technology. (Eurostat, 2025)Verified
Methodology
Figures come from Eurostat dataset isoc_eb_ai (Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise), last published 2026-06-15, reference period 2025. The unit is the percentage of enterprises in the stated size class, across all activities except agriculture, forestry, fishing and financial services. Eurostat asks about a defined list of AI technologies and purposes; an enterprise counts as an AI user if it reports at least one technology. Barrier percentages are shares of all enterprises, not of non-adopters. Nothing on this page is modelled, weighted or adjusted by us: each figure is read straight from the dataset and can be reproduced in the Eurostat data browser.
Every data point carries one of three labels. Verified means the figure was read from the named primary source. Directional means sources agree on the trend but measure it differently. Single source means one publisher reported it and nobody has corroborated it. We would rather label a number honestly than round it into confidence it has not earned.
Sources
- Eurostat — Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise (
isoc_eb_ai). Period 2025, published 2026-06-15. View the dataset.
EU statistical office. Annual survey of enterprises; percentages are of enterprises in the stated size class unless noted.
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Cite this report
The Knowledge Engineers. (2026, 4 September 2026). AI Adoption in European Enterprises. https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/ai-adoption-european-enterprises
The Knowledge Engineers. “AI Adoption in European Enterprises.” The Knowledge Engineers, 4 September 2026, https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/ai-adoption-european-enterprises.
The Knowledge Engineers. “AI Adoption in European Enterprises.” 4 September 2026. https://theknowledgeengineers.com/reports/ai-adoption-european-enterprises.