Half of euro area workers now use AI at work. Half of their employers plan no training

The European Central Bank published fresh survey data on AI at work on 30 October, in a keynote speech by a member of its Executive Board at a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco symposium. Estonia is in the euro area, so its workers and firms sit inside these numbers.

The ECB's Consumer Expectations Survey asks households whether they use AI in their job. In 2026, 52% of workers said yes. In 2024 the figure was 26%. Younger and more educated workers use it more often, and managers use it most of all.

Three hours a week, unevenly spread

The median worker who uses AI reports saving three hours a week, about 7.7% of median working time. Most users save a moderate amount and a few save a lot. Writing or debugging code gives the biggest gain, six hours a week, but only around 15% of workers use AI for it. Research, information gathering, writing and editing are the most common uses, and they save considerably less time.

Firms tell a similar story. In the ECB's survey of companies at the end of 2025, 64% used AI experimentally or moderately and only 7% called their use significant. Of the firms using it, 62% did so to improve business processes and 15% to cut labour costs.

Why the rest stay away

One in three respondents say they do not use AI because it is irrelevant to their current tasks. Others prefer their old methods, distrust the accuracy, or say their employer provides nothing. 41% of workers are not interested in AI at all, and that includes 34% of managers. Asked what would change their mind, around half point to better training on AI tools and a clearer sense of what AI is useful for.

About half of firms plan to invest in AI training over the next 12 months. The other half do not, and the speech suggests one reason may be the third of managers who show little interest in AI. Among firms planning any AI investment, 49% will buy tools such as software licences and 46% will train staff.

One more finding is worth a manager's attention. Most firms underestimate how many of their competitors already invest in AI, some by as much as 50 percentage points. When the ECB told a random half of surveyed firms the true figure, they raised their own investment plans.

What to do on Monday

• ✳Ask your team who already uses AI at work and for what. If the euro area average holds, about half of them do, with or without your approval
• ✳Find the people saving the most time and have them show colleagues what they do. Gains cluster in a few hands
• ✳Look past writing and search. Data analysis and routine automation save more time per person, and fewer people try them
• ✳Talk to the managers first. A manager who sees no use for AI is the likeliest reason a team gets no training
• ✳If you buy licences, budget training next to them. Workers name it as the thing that would get them started

Your competitors are probably further along than you think. The cheapest way to catch up is to teach your own people what the early users already know.