EU manufacturers adopt AI and big data
While adoption rates for most digital technologies are broadly similar between EU and US firms, European manufacturing stands out for the high share of firms that has adopted AI and big data. 48% of EU manufacturing firms use big data and AI, compared with 28% of US manufacturing firms. A higher share of European manufacturers is automating production by using robotics (55% of EU firms vs. 36% of US ones).
Regarding other digital technologies, US firms dominate in services and infrastructure, however. A bigger share of American service companies exploits the internet of things (64% vs. 45% for EU firms). A slightly higher share of US infrastructure firms also uses this technology (66% vs. 50% for EU). The internet of things refers to a network of physical devices, such as sensors, machines, vehicles and appliances, that are connected to the internet and can collect, exchange and analyse data without human intervention.
Large firms dominate in generative AI
Around 37% of EU firms use generative AI, in line with US firms. Large firms lead the way in using this technology. Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands have the highest rates of use, while Italy and Greece have the lowest.
Using AI for more than just chat
European companies have adopted AI to the same extent as their US counterparts. They need to do more work, however, on fully exploiting the benefits of AI by integrating it better into business processes.
A whopping 81% of US firms use AI in at least two business processes, compared with just 55% of EU firms. EU firms mostly use AI for internal processes and in marketing and sales, while US firms have integrated the technology into everything from internal processes and marketing and sales to customer service and human resources.