Many companies are hesitant about artificial intelligence – Germany nevertheless performs well in a European comparison
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used in the German economy, but mainly by large companies. The IT sector itself and business-related service providers in particular are among the pioneers. Small companies are still hesitant to use AI, as shown by a short expert report by ifo for the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria. “Companies should invest in training their employees to close knowledge gaps. In addition, the use of AI in small and medium-sized companies should be promoted,” says Oliver Falck from ifo, who led the study.
According to the ifo paper, around 12% of German companies were using at least one form of AI in 2023. That puts Germany in seventh place in a European comparison, behind countries such as the leaders Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, and Belgium (14% each), but well ahead of many other EU countries such as Ireland (8%) and France (6%). Company size plays a role here: A third of large companies with more than 250 employees in Germany use AI, compared to only one in ten small companies.
German companies use AI primarily for IT security, marketing, production and controlling, with text and data analyses, and automation in production mainly coming into play. Despite the potential for greater efficiency, for example, in logistics and medicine, many companies are hesitant. Companies not yet using AI cite a lack of expertise (72%), difficulties in seamlessly integrating AI into existing business processes (54%), and concerns about the legal situation (51%) and data protection (48%) as the main reasons.
“The widespread use of AI in companies is one of our greatest hopes for the future. In the long term, companies can use AI to compensate for a lack of workers and achieve efficiency gains. AI can ensure that our level of prosperity is maintained despite demographic change,” says IHK CEO Manfred Gößl. “It is all the more important that we accelerate the use of AI and stop holding it back. Above all, companies need legal clarity. There must be no additional burdens in transposing EU requirements into German law. On the contrary, there needs to be a practical fit with the many existing regulations such as the GDPR, the Data Act, or the EU Machinery Regulation in order to avoid uncertainty and double burdens for companies.”
The ifo short expert report “Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Dissemination, Applications, and Obstacles in Germany in a European Comparison” (Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) - Verbreitung, Anwendungen und Hindernisse in Deutschland im europäischen Vergleich) is available here.
Publication (in German)
Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) - Verbreitung, Anwendung und Hindernisse in Deutschland im europäischen Vergleich
ifo Institut, München, 2024
Impulse für die Wirtschaftspolitik, ifo-IHK Rahmenvertrag zur Erstellung volkswirtschaftlicher Studien
