Forecasts
AI in business: 2025 statistics and forecasts to 2030 for Poland, Germany and the EU
In 2025, 20.0% of EU enterprises with at least 10 employees used artificial intelligence, up from 13.5% a year earlier. In Poland the figure was 8.4%, and in Germany 26.0%. According to the European Commission, at the current pace 54% of EU enterprises will use AI in 2030, short of the 75% target.126
How many companies use AI: official data
Eurostat counts enterprises with at least 10 employees that used at least one AI technology in a given year1. These are the most comparable data across countries.
| Region | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | 8.1% | 13.5% | 20.0%2 |
| Poland | 3.7% | 5.9% | 8.4%2 |
| Germany | 11.6% | 19.8% | 26.0%2 |
The gap between large and small enterprises is wide: in 2025, 45.8% of large and 5.8% of small enterprises in Poland used AI, compared with 57.0% and 23.1% respectively in Germany2. Statistics Poland (GUS) reports 8.7% for Poland4, slightly more than Eurostat; the sources do not explain the difference.
What companies use AI for
The most common use in the EU is analysing written text, used by 11.8% of all enterprises in 20251. Applications involving work with documents and text therefore dominate, rather than advanced decision-making systems.
Barriers to adoption
Among enterprises that considered AI but do not use it, the most common reasons are a lack of expertise (70.3%), uncertainty about the legal consequences (53.6%) and data protection concerns (52.7%)3. Two of the three main barriers therefore concern knowledge and regulation, not technology.
Surveys versus official statistics
Industry surveys show much higher figures. Bitkom reports that in 2026, 57% of German companies with at least 20 employees use AI (a survey of 603 companies)9, whereas Destatis reports 26% for 20255. The Stanford AI Index cites 88% of organisations using AI in at least one function, based on a survey covering mainly large companies8. These figures are not comparable with one another, as they differ in the group of companies surveyed and in the question asked.
What this means for your business
There is still a competitive advantage to be gained, especially in Poland, where fewer than one in ten companies use AI2. The most common barriers, namely skills, legal questions and data, can be addressed through a structured project: a process map, a prototype built on your own data and clear rules for using AI.
Forecasts to 2030
The forecasts below are their authors’ estimates, not facts. We show each one with its author, time horizon and publication date.
ForecastAt the current pace, 54.28% of EU enterprises will use AI in 2030, which is 72% of the Digital Decade target; without further action, the 75% target will not be reached before 2035.6
ForecastAI could add 0.4 to 1.3 percentage points a year to labour productivity growth in G7 economies with high AI exposure; in some of the other G7 countries the gain will be up to half as large.7
Frequently asked questions
How many companies in Poland use AI?
According to Eurostat, 8.4% of enterprises with at least 10 employees in 2025; according to Statistics Poland (GUS), 8.7%. Among large enterprises the share is several times higher than among small ones.242
Why do companies not adopt AI?
Most often because of a lack of expertise, uncertainty about the legal consequences and data protection concerns, cited by 70.3%, 53.6% and 52.7% respectively of enterprises that considered AI but do not use it.3
Will the EU reach its 2030 AI adoption target?
According to the European Commission's forecast, not at the current pace: in 2030, 54.28% of enterprises are expected to use AI, and the 75% target will not be reached before 2035.6
Sources
- Eurostat: 20% of EU enterprises use AI technologies
- Eurostat: Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (isoc_eb_ai)
- Eurostat: The use of artificial intelligence in the European Union — Key results, 2026 edition
- GUS: Społeczeństwo informacyjne w Polsce w 2025 r.
- Destatis: Unternehmen mit Nutzung von Technologien der künstlichen Intelligenz nach Beschäftigtengrößenklassen
- Komisja Europejska: State of the Digital Decade 2026 — Annex 1
- OECD: Macroeconomic productivity gains from Artificial Intelligence in G7 economies (OECD AI Papers No. 41)
- Stanford HAI: AI Index Report 2026 — Chapter 4: Economy
- Bitkom: Erstmals nutzt die Mehrheit der Unternehmen KI