Europe’s competitiveness was a hot topic of conversation at this year’s World Economic Forum and will be top of mind for European executives as they return to their businesses.
Growth and productivity are slowing, and Europe faces continued underinvestment in innovation, with revenue allocated to research and development compared to North America and APAC falling short.
The world is changing fast. Nearly three quarters (72%) of European business leaders are anticipating more change in 2025 than we saw last year, according to a recent Accenture survey. Yet they feel less prepared to handle it than their North American counterparts. This is cause for concern and, without action to address it, threatens to hamper Europe’s growth.
Europe needs to act together now to retain its place on the global stage.
Fortunately, solutions are within our reach.
Major technological shifts present an opportunity to level the playing field for countries and companies. The spread of gen AI—the most transformative technology since the internet—can do just this, giving Europe a chance to reinvent itself and reverse the trend of slow growth.
AI has the power to significantly increase productivity, with some industries seeing gains of up to 30%. These benefits are not hypothetical; business leaders are already recognizing the opportunity. In 2025, 87% of C-suite executives plan to increase their investments in generative AI, and 58% expect to scale AI across their organizations—a notable jump from 2024.
This could be a game-changer for productivity and innovation if implemented effectively. But the technology in and of itself isn’t a silver bullet. How businesses apply gen AI is more important than if they do. To realize its full potential, Europe must focus on adopting gen AI in a way that prioritizes people, builds trust, and eradicates siloes.
AI is not a solution in itself; it is a tool that can foster amazing results, but only when people are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and empowerment to use it well. In Europe, up to 44% of working hours could be automated or augmented by generative AI, according to our modeling. Yet investment in technology far outweighs investment in people. Organizations currently spend three times more on AI technology than they do on reskilling their employees. This imbalance needs urgent correction. Reskilling and upskilling workers must become a top priority, with training programs that are not one-off efforts but ongoing initiatives that keep pace with AI’s rapid advancements. Everyone in an organization, not just leadership, needs to be part of this transformation if its benefits are to be fully realized.
With the necessary education and training comes trust. While business leaders are optimistic about gen AI’s potential, many workers are not. Concerns about job security are widespread; a third (36%) of European employees believe AI will lead to workforce reductions. Meanwhile, three in five (60%) workers globally worry that AI will increase stress and burnout.
These fears cannot be ignored. Left unaddressed, they will slow adoption and limit the technology’s impact. Businesses must bridge this trust gap by demonstrating how AI can enhance work rather than replace it. Providing comprehensive training and establishing clear, transparent guidelines for responsible AI use can help alleviate concerns. More than half of employees say they would feel more comfortable using AI if they had access to these resources, underscoring the importance of education and openness.
Finally, piecemeal adoption will not deliver against the expectations many business leaders have bought into. At present, gen AI strategies are often fragmented, with individual teams experimenting with the technology in isolation. This limits the technology’s impact and prevents businesses from unlocking the full range of benefits, including increased productivity, innovation, and return on investment. To succeed, organizations must take a coordinated approach, developing clear strategies for AI implementation and ensuring they have a digital core at their foundation that is flexible enough to integrate new technologies at speed and scale. However, scaling AI is not just a technical challenge but an organizational one, requiring robust systems, collaboration across departments, and a commitment to embedding AI into every aspect of operations.
Europe can play a leading role—provided that it commits to creating a federated project. Such a project, built on new models of cooperation, at least among the founding member states, must address shared needs—technology, infrastructure, energy, semiconductors, education, and training—and improve access to risk capital to foster the growth of European champions capable of competing on a global scale.
The tools to succeed are within our grasp. The time to act is now.
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