The global Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape in 2025 reveals a paradox: European Union (EU) citizens are adopting generative AI tools more quickly than North Americans, but large US companies continue to lead the deep integration of this technology to increase productivity.
Eurostat data (December 2025) indicates that 32.7% of the EU population uses AI tools, surpassing the 28.3% of the working population in the USA (according to the Oliver Wyman Forum). Countries like Denmark (48.4%) and Estonia (46.6%) lead the way. Portugal, however, is between 20% and 25%, below the community average.
The American Corporate Counterattack
Leadership is reversed, however, when looking at organizations. According to the OECD and the AI Economy Institute, massive private investment allows large American corporations to implement AI as critical infrastructure. In the USA, the use of AI in large companies reaches 80%, compared to 55% in the EU.
In Portugal, the scenario is more contained: data from INE reveal that only 11.5% of companies use AI, with a modest growth of 0.8 percentage points. The country faces investment barriers and critical dimensions that make it difficult to move from individual experimentation to organizational productivity.
To compensate for the lack of private dynamism, Europe is betting on the public sector. However, the OECD suggests that a focus on administrative efficiency does not create the economic “flywheel effect” of the American model.
Additionally, the AI Act European, focused on rigor and compliance, contrasts with the “rapid experimentation” culture of the USA, making organizational adoption slower on the Old Continent.
European talent, American capital
Despite the numbers demonstrating that it is a ‘breadbasket’ of scientific talent, Europe suffers from a chronic inability to transform ideas into global giants. According to the Draghi Report (2025) et al Science Businessalmost 30% of European “unicorns” founded between 2008 and 2021 moved their headquarters abroad, mostly to the USA.
The investment gap is abysmal: the AI Index Report 2025 (Stanford) points out that the American market attracted 109 billion dollars (81% of the global total), while the EU raised only 8 billion (7%).
Capital exists, but it is “trapped” in conservative bank deposits. THE Draghi Report defends the Capital Markets Union and the reform of pension funds to redirect savings to risky assets.
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