AI use reaches 18 percent in EU strategic sectors

In 2025, 18 percent of firms in EU strategic sectors used artificial intelligence, compared with 7 percent in 2021. Adoption differs by sector, according to the analysis presented on 14 October by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, or JRC. The research uses Eurostat's business ICT survey; it is not a measure of Hungary alone.

For Hungarian businesses, choosing an appropriate comparison group is itself a commercial question. A manufacturing supplier, an accommodation provider and a media business work with different data, processes and costs. An average adoption rate cannot establish that the same tool will pay off in every setting.

A company's own assessment should distinguish experiments from systems embedded in daily production or administration. Beyond purchase fees, data preparation, staff training, checking and error correction all consume resources. A pilot can be compared with the time and quality requirements of the same task before implementation, rather than judged only by registered-user numbers.

Related reporting covers digital skills in the AI era and investigations of AI incidents. An open question for subsequent surveys is how far growing use will be accompanied by substantive changes to production processes.