Who Adopts Artificial Intelligence in Europe and Why? Firm Size, Multinational Status and Divide

What is it about?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the global economy, yet European companies are adopting it at vastly different speeds. Drawing on firm-level microdata from the European Commission’s Advanced Technologies for Industry (ATI) survey, this study uses logistic regression and cross-country comparative analysis to examine who adopts AI in Europe, for what purpose, and how it is financed. The findings reveal a pronounced three-tier regional divide: Nordic countries lead the way—with 36.2% of firms in Denmark and 35.9% in Sweden actively using AI (reaching 62.5% in Sweden when including planned adoption)—followed by catching-up South-Western economies (France, Italy, and Spain at ~30% active and ~30% planned use), while Central and Eastern Europe (Poland) lags significantly at 16.4% active adoption and 40% of firms having no plans to implement AI. Even after controlling for corporate structure, larger enterprises and multinational companies are significantly more likely to adopt AI, whereas agriculture, transport and logistics, retail and wholesale, and education/government lag behind. Across Europe, firms primarily deploy AI for business process automation, intelligent assistance, and marketing to cut costs and innovate products, relying predominantly on internal company funds—with the notable exception of Poland, where 50% of AI-adopting firms depend on government and EU grants.

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Photo by Zach M on Unsplash

Photo by Zach M on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Maps Europe’s 3-Tier AI Divide: Quantifies the gap between Nordic leaders (Denmark, Sweden), South-Western followers (France, Italy, Spain), and CEE laggers (Poland) using official European Commission Advanced Technologies for Industry (ATI) microdata. Pinpoints Firm-Level Drivers & Sectoral Bottlenecks: Proves via logistic regression that company size and multinational status strongly boost AI adoption, while identifying lagging sectors (retail, transport, agriculture, and public/education). Contrasts Self-Financing vs. Grant Dependency: Shows that while most European firms fund AI through internal capital to optimize processes, half of AI adopters in Poland rely on EU and national government grants and focus heavily on marketing and customer acquisition. Informs EU Digital Decade Policy: Demonstrates why EU recovery funds and national digitalization schemes must be tailored to local corporate structures so they bridge—rather than reinforce—existing regional divides.