Europe narrows AI readiness gap with North America
Accenture's AI Progress Barometer indicates European firms improved AI readiness by 1.6 points, narrowing the gap with North America, which saw a 1.1-point rise. However, North America leads with an average score of 48.9 versus Europe's 43.1. A significant disparity exists within Europe, where large companies are catching up, but smaller firms lag by 7.6 points, posing a risk to regional competitiveness.
*this image is generated using AI for illustrative purposes only.
European companies are narrowing the artificial intelligence (AI) readiness gap with North America, though a growing divide between large and smaller firms threatens the region's overall competitiveness, according to the inaugural Accenture AI Progress Barometer. The report tracks the AI readiness of approximately 3,000 of the world’s largest companies, scoring them on a scale from 0 to 100 based on their ability to maximize value from AI through data, workforce skills, and processes.
Over the past six months, European companies improved their AI Readiness scores by 1.6 points, compared with a 1.1-point improvement in North America. Despite this faster growth, North American companies continue to hold a higher overall level of readiness, averaging 48.9 out of 100 compared with 43.1 for European companies. The data highlights a widening split within Europe, where the largest firms with annual revenues above $10 billion are closing the gap, ranking just 2.1 points behind their North American peers. In contrast, smaller European companies lag comparable North American firms by 7.6 points, creating a pronounced "long tail" that could hinder future productivity and growth.
Regional and Sectoral Performance
The pace of progress varies significantly across countries and industries. Companies in France, the United Kingdom, and Spain recorded the largest improvements in AI readiness, while ten of the 18 sectors tracked showed overall gains. The insurance sector led the rankings with the fastest gains, followed by travel and consumer goods. This progress reflects a shift from experimentation to large-scale execution, with companies reinventing business processes and modernizing data foundations.
AI Readiness Scores by Region
| Region | Average Score | 6-Month Change |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 48.9 | +1.1 |
| Europe | 43.1 | +1.6 |
Top Performing Sectors
| Sector | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance | 48.6 | +8.0 |
| Travel | 46.7 | +5.7 |
| Consumer Goods | 43.7 | +5.2 |
Executive Perspectives
Mauro Macchi, CEO for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Accenture, attributed the momentum to large enterprises driving enterprise-wide reinvention rather than simple adoption. He emphasized that rethinking operating models, strengthening data foundations, and ensuring leadership engagement are critical for defining Europe’s future competitiveness. Gavin Stephenson, Accenture’s Data & AI lead for EMEA, noted that the shift involves redesigning work processes, such as automating straightforward insurance claims while flagging complex cases for human experts, which requires clean, integrated data and a trained workforce.
What specific policy measures or support systems could European governments implement to help smaller firms bridge the widening AI readiness gap with their larger counterparts?
How might the growing disparity in AI capabilities between large and small European firms impact the region's overall economic productivity and market dynamics over the next decade?
Will the rapid AI adoption in leading sectors like insurance and travel trigger a similar acceleration in lagging industries, or will sector-specific challenges continue to polarize progress?
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