Key Findings
AI has huge potential for Europe
1. Over a third of businesses are experimenting with AI, and a majority of businesses predict that AI will have a transformative impact on their industries.
of businesses who are using AI say that it has already streamlined their business processes, 75% say that it has increased revenues, and 75% say that AI has stimulated innovation.
70
%
77
%
Our research shows a clear acceleration in these trends:
of businesses that are using AI tools have adopted these technologies for the first time in the past four years.
The future of AI:
56% of businesses think that AI will largely or entirely transform their industry in the next five years.
Businesses predict that their AI usage will significantly increase in the next year; 67% of those who know about AI expect to be consistently using at least one AI tool, up from the 25% that currently use at least one.
2. Excitement around AI is also reaching citizens – a clear majority believe that AI will transform key public services, large swathes of the economy, and even their daily lives.
European citizens believe that AI will positively transform key public services including education (66%), healthcare (65%), and even fields such as agriculture (56%) and sports and culture (53%) in the next five years.
Education: 66%
Healthcare: 65%
Agriculture: 56%
Sports & culture: 53%
Over half of citizens (51%) think that AI will positively impact their day-to-day life within the next three years.
3. AI is underpinned by cloud technology, which businesses report as increasingly foundational to their digital ambitions.
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Cloud computing technologies have become more important for over half (52%) of businesses in the past year.
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Businesses report that cloud technology enables key business functions, such as supporting remote/flexible working (50%), keeping their data secure (49%), and replacing paper processes (39%).
4. With increased ambitions for technology, Europe’s businesses are attempting to expand their digital capabilities, especially digital skills within their organisations.
Three-quarters (75%) of businesses report that digital skills are important to the running of their businesses.
Over two in three (67%) of businesses stated that when hiring for most roles in five years’ time, the candidate’s digital skills will be more important than their university qualifications.
Less than one in five (18%) of businesses find it easy to find new staff with satisfactory levels of digital skills, which is linked to 65% of businesses now offering regular or occasional digital skills workshops or training programmes for their employees to supplement hiring.
5. Businesses identify insufficient digital skills as a major factor holding them back from adopting more digital technology, while citizens lack understanding of AI and cloud computing.
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27% of businesses reported that insufficient digital skills were a major factor holding them back from fully utilising digital technologies.
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44% of businesses reported that sourcing new employees with the requisite level of digital skills was holding them back from using digital technologies.
Simple digital skills, such as editing documents and creating spreadsheets, were selected by businesses as:
51
%
The type of skill most lacking in their organisation
Highest in demand across their industry
31
%
Most important to their business
34
%
Difficult to find when hiring
27
%
Despite being a key enabler of the AI revolution that has drawn so much interest, only 7% of citizens say that they are very familiar with cloud computing, with 42% stating that they have not heard of it.
45% of citizens stated that they had heard of the concept of artificial intelligence but did not know what it meant and only 10% of citizens said they had an advanced understanding of generative AI.