Where in Europe do people use AI the most?

Europeans are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) – but some countries are more keen than others, new data shows.

Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched in 2022, more than 1.2 billion people globally have used AI tools, according to the report from Microsoft.

That’s a faster rate of adoption than other major technologies, including the internet, the personal computer, and the smartphone.

Today, the European Union is on the forefront of AI adoption, particularly its wealthiest countries, the report found. Ireland leads the bloc, with 41.7 per cent of people using AI regularly in their daily lives or work.

Next up are France (40.9 per cent) and Spain (39.7 per cent).

On the other end of the spectrum were Romania (15.3 per cent) and Greece (17.7 per cent), where people are least likely in the EU to use AI in daily life or work.

Looking beyond the EU, Norway and the United Kingdom are also AI fanatics: 45.3 per cent of Norwegians and 36.4 per cent of British people use AI regularly, according to the report.

Microsoft said that globally, AI adoption is closely linked with a country’s economy. In the Global North, adoption is about 23 per cent, compared with 13 per cent in the Global South.

AI adoption has also been faster in countries with strong electricity, connectivity, and computing infrastructure. However, nearly four billion people worldwide live in regions where these factors remain a challenge.

“The divide is attributable not only to access to AI tools; it reflects wider disparities in infrastructure, education, and language,” the report said.