Increasing use of AI by business
The AI Monitor shows that the AI technologies used the most commonly by companies in 2024 were text mining (the analysis of written texts) at 13.5 percent, and natural language generation (the automated generation of written or spoken text) at 12.3 percent. Compared to the previous year, companies were 2.5 times more likely to use text mining, and three times more likely to use language generation technology. Meanwhile the use of speech recognition technology increased from 3.7 percent in 2023 to 6.5 percent in 2024.
| Year | Share of businesses (Use AI-technology (%)) | Share (95% confidence interval) (Use AI-technology (%)) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13.1 | 12.3 - 13.9 |
| 2022* | 15.8 | 14.9 - 16.7 |
| 2023* | 14 | 13.2 - 14.8 |
| 2024* | 22.7 | 21.7 - 23.8 |
| *Provisional figures | ||
Use of AI is more popular among larger companies
Larger companies were more likely to use AI technology in 2024 than smaller companies. Use of AI technology was the most common among companies with 500 or more workers (59.2 percent) and the lowest among companies with 10 to 19 workers (17.8 percent).
Information and communication sector leading the way
Companies in the information and communication sector used AI technology the most in 2024, at 58.0 percent. That compares to 37.0 percent of companies in 2023. Companies in specialised business services and financial services were also relatively likely to use AI technology, at 39.8 percent and 37.4 percent respectively. Again, the use of AI technology was lower in these sectors in 2023 (by 24.8 percent and 27.4 percent, respectively).
| Businesses | Use of AI technologies (Use of AI technologies (%)) | AI-Use, marge (Use of AI technologies (%)) |
|---|---|---|
| C Manufacturing | 18.0 | 16.1 - 20.1 |
| D-E Energy, water and waste management | 22.6 | 17.2 - 29.2 |
| F Construction | 8.9 | 6.6 - 11.9 |
| G Trade | 23.2 | 20.9 - 25.5 |
| H Transportation and storage | 11.0 | 8.8 - 13.7 |
| I Accommodation and food services | 9.0 | 6.2 - 13.0 |
| J Information and communication | 58.0 | 53.9 - 62.0 |
| K Financial services | 37.4 | 30.2 - 45.2 |
| L Real estate activities | 28.0 | 19.6 - 38.2 |
| M Specialist business services | 39.8 | 36.8 - 42.9 |
| N Leasing and other business services | 22.6 | 19.9 - 25.5 |
| Q Health care and social care | 18.4 | 15.3 - 22.1 |
| *Provisional figures | ||
Netherlands in sixth place in EU
Eurostat looked at companies in EU countries with ten or more workers that use at least one of the seven AI technologies identified1). In 2024, there were five EU countries (Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, and Luxembourg) with a higher share of companies that use AI technology than the Netherlands. Denmark had the highest share at 27.6 percent. Across the European Union as a whole, 13.5 percent of companies used AI technology in 2024.
| Use of AI technology (%) (% ) | |
|---|---|
| Denmark | 27.6 |
| Sweden | 25.1 |
| Belgium | 24.7 |
| Finland | 24.4 |
| Luxembourg | 23.7 |
| Netherlands | 23.1 |
| Slovenia | 20.9 |
| Austria | 20.3 |
| Germany | 19.8 |
| Malta | 17.3 |
| Ireland | 14.9 |
| Estonia | 13.9 |
| EU-27 | 13.5 |
| Croatia | 11.8 |
| Czechia | 11.3 |
| Spain | 11.3 |
| Slovakia | 10.8 |
| France | 9.9 |
| Greece | 9.8 |
| Lithuania | 8.8 |
| Latvia | 8.8 |
| Portugal | 8.6 |
| Italy | 8.2 |
| Cyprus | 7.9 |
| Hungary | 7.4 |
| Bulgaria | 6.5 |
| Poland | 5.9 |
| Romania | 3.1 |
| Source: CBS, Eurostat | |
| * provisional figures | |
1)The figures by Eurostat exclude Division K (Financial Services). As a result, the figure for the Netherlands differs slightly from that presented elsewhere.
Reasons for not using AI
When it comes to companies that have at some point considered adopting AI technology, but which are not currently using it, ‘lack of experience’ was by far the most commonly given reason for this (74.6 percent). This is true of companies of all sizes and across all economic sectors. Privacy also played a role in the decision on using AI. More than half of companies with 100 or more workers gave privacy as a reason for not adopting AI technology.