Polish companies reluctant to AI. Credit Agricole report

The report shows that the percentage of enterprises using at least one of AI technologies, listed by Eurostat (e.g. machine learning, natural language generation, speech and image recognition), is at most in the north -west countries (Benelux, Scandinavia and Germany), and the lowest in the countries of the South (Portugal, Italy, Greece) and East (Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria).

Against the background of the European Union (13.5 percent) and euro zones (14.4 percent) Poland (5.9 percent) falls unfavorable, having an advantage in the field of AI only over Romania (3.1 percent).

“The position of Poland is significantly improving if the analysis is narrowed to large enterprises (employing over 250 people). Then Poland is ahead of 9 EU countries, including France and Italy. This is due to the disproportion in the absorption of technology AI between small and large enterprises, which in Poland is the highest in the entire European Union, “it was reported.

The report shows that among Polish companies, large enterprises have over eight times an advantage in implementing AI technology over small enterprises. You can point to three reasons for this advantage.

“Large companies use other technologies than small ones – they use process automation, machine and vehicle automation, as well as data analysis using AI, which is associated with a strong effect of the scale accompanying these applications” – it was written.

In small companies, AI dominates marketing, and in large AI is used in production, logistics, administration, finance and cyber security.

“Large companies are also inclined to higher investments in order to obtain solutions more suited to their needs, by deciding to develop or pay for solutions created on their own,” it was written.

“Among the EU countries, there is a clear relationship between the use of AI and GDP level per capita. Higher GDP levels are on the one hand a greater availability of capital, and on the other hand, a higher benefit from the reduction of labor costs” – added.

According to the report, this may result from the greater availability of financial and human capital, more extensive technological facilities, as well as the relatively higher benefits of reducing the demand for work, which is usually more expensive in richer countries.

It was stated that the vast majority of surveyed 10+ companies do not use AI and do not consider its introduction. In Poland, this share in 2024 amounted to 90 percent. against 93 percent In 2023, among other EU countries, a clear difference can be observed between a group of low and high dissemination of AI technology. In the case of German, Austria and Benelux countries, this share oscillates at the level of approx. 65 percent.

There is also a group of enterprises in Poland that the implementation of AI technology considered, but ultimately did not carry it out (3-9 percent depending on the size of the company).

The most important reason mentioned by enterprises of each category in terms of the number of employees are deficiencies in human capital, i.e. the lack of staff and knowledge necessary for proper implementation of AI technology.

Another frequently mentioned factors are too high technology implementation costs, as well as a lack of clarity in matters of legal consequences, such as incurring responsibility for errors resulting from AI errors.

“Both in international cross -section and in terms of the size of enterprises, in the implementation of AI technology, an important advantage is associated with greater availability of capital that occurs in wealthier countries, and in larger enterprises, which enables wider and faster dissemination of AI technology” – it was written.

“In these cases, the potential benefits of implementing these technologies are higher, due to the relatively higher cost of work in more developed economies and the possibility of using the scale effect for large enterprises” – added.