New study finds that document-related processes and data analytics are driving AI adoption across Europe, while integration, privacy, security, and compliance remain the biggest challengesdvantage no longer comes simply from adopting AI, but from how successfully organizations integrate AI into existing business processes and manage it across the enterprise.
Based on responses from 1,089 IT decision makers across ten European countries, the study provides a comprehensive overview of AI adoption in document management, data analytics, cybersecurity, and sustainability, as well as organizations' preparedness for European AI legislation.
AI Is Being Adopted First Where Productivity Gains Are Most Immediate
The findings show that organizations are primarily deploying AI where measurable business benefits can be realized quickly.
Today, 78% of organizations have already implemented – or are in the process of implementing – AI for document-related processes and content creation, closely followed by 77% in Data Analytics and Business Intelligence. AI adoption is also increasing in Security (71%) and ESG initiatives (63%). Legal and Compliance, however, represents a different dimension of AI maturity. Rather than focusing on AI implementation itself, organizations are preparing for regulatory requirements. Already 55% have taken steps to assess the impact of AI legislation on their business.
This highlights a clear trend: organizations are taking a pragmatic approach by focusing first on use cases that deliver rapid efficiency gains before expanding AI into more highly regulated business functions.
This is particularly evident in information management. 86% of organizations already use AI to identify and extract information from documents. In addition, 68% use AI to automatically summarize documents, while 66% use it for translation. These findings demonstrate that AI is gaining traction wherever it can streamline workflows and reduce employees' administrative workload.
Company Size Is a Key Indicator of AI Maturity
The study also reveals significant differences between large enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses.
Organizations with 500 or more employees achieve AI implementation rates of approximately 85% to 87% in document-related processes and data analytics, compared with 60% to 78% among small and medium-sized businesses. Large organizations also lead in Security (83% vs. 53%–71%) and ESG initiatives (69%–79% vs. 43%–63%).
While smaller organizations recognize the same potential, they often lack dedicated AI expertise, mature IT infrastructures, cybersecurity capabilities, and the financial resources needed to deploy and scale AI successfully. This shows that AI maturity today depends not only on technology investments, but increasingly on an organization's overall readiness.
Industry Leaders Are Driven by Operational and Regulatory Demands
The survey also reveals considerable differences across industries.
The Banking, Finance and Insurance sector emerges as the leader in AI adoption. With 83% adoption in document-related processes, 87% in data analytics, 84% in security, and 71% in ESG initiatives, the sector achieves the highest implementation rates across all areas examined.
The Information and Communication sector and the Transportation sector also rank among the leaders. Organizations in the Information and Communications industry lead in document-related processes (83%) and data analytics (87%), while the Transportation sector also reaches 87% in data analytics and ranks among the leaders in ESG adoption at 71%.
Across these industries, digital workflows, large volumes of data, and increasing regulatory requirements make AI an essential tool for improving efficiency, reducing risk, and meeting compliance obligations. As a result, many organizations view AI not simply as an innovation initiative, but as a practical solution to existing operational and regulatory challenges.
The Biggest Challenge Is Integration, Not Technology
Despite growing AI adoption, organizations continue to face significant challenges. The most frequently cited obstacle is integrating AI with existing IT systems and workflows (39%), followed by privacy, security, or compliance concerns (37%). Other major barriers include high implementation or operational costs (31%) and a lack of internal expertise or skilled personnel (29%).
The findings make it clear that the next phase of AI transformation will depend less on the capabilities of AI itself than on organizations' ability to integrate AI securely, effectively, and sustainably into their day-to-day operations.
Building a Data-Driven Organization Remains Challenging
Creating a truly data-driven organization continues to be a challenge for many businesses. In the area of Data Analytics, organizations identify security and compliance concerns (40%), high implementation costs (39%), and a lack of skilled personnel (38%) as the primary barriers to intelligent data utilization.
These findings underscore that successful AI adoption increasingly depends on a strong data foundation and a data-driven organizational culture.
As AI Adoption Grows, So Do Cybersecurity Requirements
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in business processes, secure AI deployment becomes increasingly important. Already 52% of organizations have established a cybersecurity strategy for AI-related risks. At the same time, about one in five organizations (22%) report having already experienced an AI-based cyberattack. Consequently, 79% evaluate third-party AI solutions for security risks before deployment.
AI Is Also Gaining Momentum in Sustainability
Beyond productivity and security, AI is playing an increasingly important role in sustainability and ESG initiatives. Organizations expect AI to deliver improved data analysis (59%), efficiency gains (51%), or better compliance support (47%).
At the same time, the study shows that many organizations still lack the necessary capabilities to fully realize AI's potential in ESG. The biggest barriers include a lack of expertise (41%), poor data quality (31%), and costs or lack of budget (31%) and unclear ROI (31%).
From AI Pilot Projects to Measurable Business Value
The study concludes that AI has reached a new stage of maturity across Europe. For organizations, the question is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to integrate it securely and efficiently into everyday business operations.
As a trusted digital transformation partner, Konica Minolta helps organizations integrate AI into existing workflows, information management systems, and business processes – enabling them to move from isolated AI initiatives to measurable business value.
About the Survey
The Konica Minolta AI Survey was conducted from January to February 2026. It included 1,089 respondents in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and the UK. These individuals came from a wide variety of company sizes, ranging from 1 to 19 employees (19%), 20 to 499 people (40%), 500 to 999 employees (21%) to organizations with more than 1,000 employees (20%). Sample sizes vary across the different sections, as not all 1,089 surveyed companies completed each section due to additional filters: Data Analytics & Business Intelligence (n=614), Legal & Compliance topics (n=544), Sustainability / ESG topics (n=544)
