The artificial intelligence market in Europe is growing fast, but unevenly. According to the latest Eurostat survey, published in the Key results – 2026 edition report, one in five European companies with at least 10 employees uses AI technologies: 19.95%, up from 13.5% in the previous survey. That is a jump of 6.5 percentage points in a single year, the largest since Eurostat started tracking it.
In Italy, spending is growing even faster. In February 2026 the Artificial Intelligence Observatory of Politecnico di Milano reported a market worth €1.8 billion, up 50%, with Generative AI already accounting for 46% of the total.
This guide brings together the numbers on AI adoption in European companies, the new AI Act timeline after the Digital Omnibus, public investment in computing power and the most common use cases. At the end you will find short answers to frequently asked questions.
Table of Contents
- How many companies use AI in Europe
- The AI market in Italy
- AI Act and Digital Omnibus: what changes for companies
- European investment: AI Factories and AI Gigafactories
- Athics aims at the European AI market
- How is AI used in Europe
- Conclusions
- FAQ
How Many Companies Use AI in Europe
Eurostat's average of 19.95% of companies with at least 10 employees hides wide differences. The first is company size: AI is used by 17% of small companies, 30% of medium-sized companies and 55% of large companies. One large European company in two therefore has at least one AI system in production, while among small businesses the figure is one in six. The second difference is geographic. The Nordic countries lead the ranking: Denmark is at 42%, Finland at 38% and Sweden at 35%. Several Southern and Eastern European countries sit much lower, held back by an economy made up mostly of micro and small businesses and by a shortage of digital skills.
Skills are in fact the main brake. Among companies that considered AI but did not adopt it, 70.89% cite a lack of in-house expertise as the reason, far more often than costs or concerns about privacy and data protection. This tells you where to start: today the bottleneck is the ability to design and run a project, while access to the technology itself has become easy. That is why no-code platforms are growing, letting a business team create AI agents without hiring a team of developers.
Looking at uses, Eurostat finds that the most common technology is text analysis (11.75% of companies), followed by generating images, video and audio (9.55%) and generating written or spoken language (8.76%). These are all applications built on language models and Generative AI: customer support chatbots, email and ticket classification, document summaries, marketing content. Conversational AI is the entry point through which most European companies start using artificial intelligence.
The AI Market in Italy
The Italian artificial intelligence market is worth €1.8 billion, up 50% on the previous year, according to the Politecnico di Milano Observatory. 46% of spending goes to Generative AI or hybrid projects, and the remaining 54% to more traditional machine learning projects such as demand forecasting, predictive maintenance and fraud detection.
The gap between large and small companies in Italy is even wider than the European average. 71% of large Italian companies have launched at least one AI project, while among small and medium-sized businesses the share drops to 8%. In a country where SMEs make up almost the entire economy, this is the main weakness and also the biggest growth opportunity for the coming years. We looked at the Italian figures sector by sector in our article on artificial intelligence in Italy.
AI Act and Digital Omnibus: What Changes for Companies
The AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is the world's first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence. It classifies AI systems by risk: some practices are banned, high-risk systems must meet strict requirements, while chatbots and generated content are mainly subject to transparency obligations, starting with the duty to tell users they are talking to a machine.
The timeline changed with the Digital Omnibus on AI, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, which entered into force on 27 July 2026. It pushes back the deadlines for high-risk systems: obligations for systems listed in Annex III (for example recruitment, credit scoring, access to essential services) apply from 2 December 2027, and those for AI embedded in products regulated under Annex I from 2 August 2028. The package also simplifies documentation for SMEs and strengthens the powers of the European AI Office.
For a company using virtual assistants in customer care or AI agents for internal processes, the delay does not change priorities. Most of these use cases are not high-risk, while transparency towards users, the quality of training data and GDPR rules remain central. It makes sense to choose platforms that host data in Europe and keep conversation logs from day one, so you reach the deadlines without having to rebuild your projects. If you are unsure which category applies to you, start from the difference between chatbots and AI agents: the system's level of autonomy is one of the criteria that matter to regulators too.
European Investment: AI Factories and AI Gigafactories
On infrastructure, the European Union wants to reduce its dependence on non-European computing providers. Alongside the network of AI Factories run by EuroHPC, which gives startups, SMEs and researchers access to supercomputing, on 30 July 2026 the Commission opened the call for AI Gigafactories: up to seven large-scale computing facilities, backed by up to €10 billion in EU and national funding and expected to attract another €20 billion in private investment. The call closes on 12 November 2026.
For companies that use AI without building it, the practical effect will be a wider choice of models and services hosted in Europe, with data that stays under European jurisdiction: a requirement many clients, especially in banking, healthcare and public administration, already set as a condition for signing a contract.
Athics Aims at the European AI Market
Athics' international strategy is supported by the "Call for support for internationalization projects of SMEs, Consortia and aggregations of SMEs – 2023", announced by the Emilia-Romagna Region. The project aims to encourage the export and scale up of companies, also encouraging digital export and multi-channel.
Athics' goal is to focus on Europe, with particular attention to countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Eurostat's figures explain the choice: demand for conversational solutions is growing across the continent, and companies that have not yet adopted AI name the lack of skills as the first obstacle. A no-code platform like Crafter.ai, with data hosted in Europe and compliant with GDPR and the AI Act, answers exactly this need.
"With targeted investments and a solid internationalization strategy, Athics is preparing to consolidate its presence in the AI market in Europe, with the aim of contributing to the innovation and growth of businesses on the continent." — Paolo Massarani, Managing Director Athics
How is AI Used in Europe
1. Business Process Automation (RPA & AI)
Many European companies are adopting AI to automate repetitive and administrative tasks, improving efficiency and reducing costs, especially in the banking, insurance, manufacturing and public sectors.
2. Customer Experience and Customer Support
Chatbots, virtual assistants, and predictive analytics enable companies to offer faster, more personalized, and multi-channel customer service, with widespread applications in e-commerce, tourism, telecommunications, and financial services.
3. Supply Chain and Logistics Optimization
AI is being used to improve inventory management, forecast demand, optimize transportation, and reduce operating costs, with a strong impact on the retail, automotive, and distribution industries.
4. Data Analysis and Strategic Decisions
More and more companies in Europe are using AI and machine learning to analyze large volumes of data and gain insights to make faster and more informed decisions, whether in marketing, finance or production.
5. Sustainability and Green Transition
Artificial intelligence is used to optimize energy consumption, support the management of renewable sources and reduce environmental impact, contributing to the sustainability objectives promoted by the European Union.
Conclusions
The artificial intelligence market in Europe has moved past the experimental phase: one company in five uses AI, more than half of large companies already have it in production, and in Italy spending grew by half in a single year. The rules are clearer, with the AI Act and the new deadlines set by the Digital Omnibus, and the Commission is funding the computing capacity needed to grow a European offer.
The gap remains among SMEs, held back mainly by a lack of skills. This is where no-code tools, well-defined use cases such as customer support and data management that complies with European rules make the difference between a project that launches and one that stays in a drawer.
FAQ
How many European companies use artificial intelligence? About one in five. According to Eurostat, 19.95% of European companies with at least 10 employees use AI technologies. The share rises to 55% among large companies and falls to 17% among small ones.
How big is the AI market in Italy? According to the Artificial Intelligence Observatory of Politecnico di Milano, it is worth €1.8 billion, up 50% in a year. Almost half of the spending is on Generative AI.
What are the main sectors where AI is used in Europe? The most active sectors are manufacturing, finance, healthcare, retail, logistics and telecommunications. AI is mainly used for process automation, customer experience improvement, data analysis and supply chain optimization.
What are the main European regulations governing AI? The main references are the GDPR, for personal data protection, and the AI Act, the world's first law dedicated to artificial intelligence, amended by the Digital Omnibus that entered into force on 27 July 2026.
When do the AI Act's high-risk obligations apply? After the Digital Omnibus, obligations for high-risk systems listed in Annex III apply from 2 December 2027. For AI embedded in products regulated under Annex I, the date is 2 August 2028.
What is holding back AI adoption in European companies? Mostly a lack of skills. Among companies that considered AI without adopting it, 70.89% give this reason, according to Eurostat.
What opportunities does AI offer for European SMEs? European SMEs can use AI to automate repetitive processes, improve customer service, optimize supply chains and access new markets. With no-code solutions, even small businesses can launch chatbots and virtual assistants without major technology investments.
