ECB: Only one in four firms invest In AI despite high adoption rate

The adoption of AI within European businesses is on a steady rise; however, the numbers show that most companies aren’t actually paying for it. 

In a research published by the European Central Bank (ECB), the use of AI has become widespread across continents, but actual investments in the technology have not produced the same results due to companies relying on free tools rather than searching for enterprise solutions. 

The ECB’s post was compiled after the bank’s survey on Access to Finance Enterprises, which was carried out between the second and fourth quarters of 2025. 

Why are companies not investing despite widespread use?

A major reason for the divide between usage and investment levels lies in the issue of accessibility. Most firms do not see a reason to invest in AI infrastructure to deploy the technology, because accessible tools like ChatGPT, Claude, open-source AI models, and specific browser extensions have drastically dropped the barrier to entry. 

With these tools, companies can equip their entire workforce with AI capabilities without having to dip into company funds and without requiring custom solutions.

According to the ECB, 90% of businesses with 250 or more employees make use of AI, compared to companies with 10 employees or fewer. 

On the other hand, investment in AI capabilities drops to around one in every four companies across the board. This greatly impacts the effects of AI on the economy. 

As the technology keeps developing and adoption increases, the capital expenditure isn’t growing at the same rate, suggesting that companies would rather experiment with AI freely rather than commit funds to it. 

Are firms replacing workers with AI?

According to the ECB’s findings, companies using AI are not looking to replace workers, but are 4% more likely to hire additional staff than firms that do not. Additionally, businesses that invest in AI are 2% more likely to grow their workforce.

This pattern occurs more often in smaller companies, while larger firms are not affected by AI adoption, suggesting that AI is more of a tool in smaller companies than an employee replacement. This is because these firms primarily use AI for research, development, and innovation applications to increase productivity and not to automate existing tasks. 

AI has taken a different route from past adoption predictions 

The ECB’s findings do not match the results from earlier research projects, such as the survey conducted by Germany’s Ifo Institute. The institute concluded from its survey that over 25% of German companies believed that AI would reduce the workforce within five years. 

Additionally, major companies in the US, such as Amazon, have linked thousands of job cuts to AI reasons. 

This difference can be attributed to timing and geography. The ECB’s research was conducted around what’s happening now and over the next year in Europe, where AI adoption varies differently when compared to the United States. For example, European companies have stricter rules when approaching AI investment and workforce structure.

Another difference is the scale of investment in AI. According to Lebastard and Sonderman, the extent and timing of AI adoption differ between the US and Europe, pointing out how AI has had little effect on how Europeans conduct their business, and functions more like a support than a core aspect of their production.

Lastly, in a paper published in January by the European Investment Bank, most firms that adopted AI boosted productivity by 4% through capital investment, and not through job cuts. The productivity boost often occurred in medium and large-sized organizations, with AI-adopting firms paying higher wages and incurring more innovative costs.