Expleo AI Pulse

A common question we face is where to draw the line on allowing AI to act independently. When it comes to productivity or administrative tasks, the majority are comfortable handing over control: 68% are happy for AI to autonomously ‘summarise emails, documents and meeting notes’, and 66% would let AI ‘organise calendars and schedule meetings.’ More interestingly, views become evenly split when decisions carry greater weight. For AI independently ‘making strategic business decisions,’ respondents were almost perfectly divided — 40% comfortable and 41% uncomfortable. The same pattern appears for AI making HR decisions and financial decisions, with four in ten comfortable and the same proportion uncomfortable. Taken together, these findings point to a rising familiarity with AI and a level of comfort that simply did not exist a few months ago.

With AI tools embedded in the workflows of many organisations and individuals, it is worth considering the positive impacts they have made. When asked what impact it would have if the tools they use were no longer available, 22% of survey respondents said it would make their work more stressful, with the same number saying it would make their work more complicated. By comparison, 18% said it would make their work less stressful and 20% said it would become less complicated. These responses suggest a clear split in AI maturity and adoption levels in workplaces around Europe. Meanwhile, 18% said they would not notice any difference whatsoever, suggesting a many workplaces and workers remain resistant to AI adoption.

With AI becoming heavily embedded in business processes and the day-to-day working lives of people, it’s important that appropriate safeguards, structures and policies are in place for the technology. When asked whether they believed their organisation could demonstrate accountable governance related to AI, at least two-thirds of respondents responded positively in each market, with an average of 69%. France stands out at the top of the range (73%), suggesting a comparatively higher level of preparedness or trust in governance structures, while Germany sits at the lower end (66%), reflecting a slightly more cautious sentiment. The UK (68%) and Ireland (69%) cluster closely around the overall average of 69%, indicating broadly similar levels of maturity and assurance. Nonetheless, with 27% answering that they were unconfident, it hints at a possible maturity divide between businesses as AI models and adoption evolves.

According to respondents, the ‘ability to integrate AI into workflows and drive change’ will be the number one skill required by managers in the future, with 25% choosing this option. However, when comparing markets, this varied significantly, reaching as high as 30% in Germany and falling as low as 19% in Ireland, where people leadership and empathetic coaching was the number one response. Across all markets, ‘oversight of algorithmic compliance, ethics and governance’ was chosen the least of the five provided options.

One of the key benefits of AI tools pitched for the average worker is the ability to save time and improve efficiency. But, how much of that benefit are people seeing today? According to our most recent survey, the average worker across France, Germany, Ireland and the UK are saving 3.3 hours per week using AI tools. Based on a 36-hour working week, that means that workers using AI are seeing a 9% efficiency gain when using AI tools. Of those surveyed, just 6% said they were not using AI tools and as much as 22% said they were saving five hours or more per week.

While many conversations around AI emphasise how quickly the technology is evolving, two-thirds (65%) of business leaders believe their organisation is moving at the right pace with AI. In fact, just one in ten believe they are moving too fast with almost twice as many saying they are moving too slow (18%). This reflects the overall confidence levels when it comes to AI across all markets and perhaps suggests that those using the technology are growing increasingly comfortable with it in their daily lives.

Concerns around the accuracy and reliability of data or responses received from AI tools, in the shape of hallucinations or otherwise pose a significant problem for businesses embedding these tools into day-to-day operations. Our survey showed this is front of mind for many, with 52% of respondents saying they are concerned by the accuracy and quality of data they receive from AI tools. However, there was a notable split in attitudes by market with overall levels of concern higher in the UK and France, at 59% and 55% of respondents respectively, compared to just 43% of respondents in Germany.

As we entered the New Year, we asked our respondents which areas businesses will invest in. With Gartner predicting 2.5 trillion USD in 2026 – a 44% year-on-year increase – AI promises to be high on agendas once again.

Number one on the list? Cybersecurity. In all three markets, this area was highlighted as the main area of investment, highlighted by 41% of all respondents. As the AI Pulse has shown elsewhere, concerns over cybersecurity and AI remain front of mind. As such, businesses are looking to counteract that risk.

Trailing behind as the second and third highest rated priorities was automation (30%) and data analysis & insights (29%). These have long been identified as areas where AI can have major efficiency gains for businesses, and it looks as though more are looking to capitalise on those benefits.

With AI agents now replacing everyday web searches and becoming embedded into more and more daily tasks, conversations about the environmental impact of AI are growing louder.

Of the countries surveyed in November’s AI Pulse, the proportion of respondents ‘concerned’ or very ‘concerned’ with the environmental impacts of AI technologies used or created by their business was just 42%. However, this varied significantly by market, with concern highest in the UK (54%). By comparison, just 43% of French and 30% of German respondents were ‘concerned’ or very concerned.’ This highlights the latest disparity in attitudes between our markets, perhaps reflecting the levels of adoption in each.

In October, the notion of AI in monitoring productivity and performance in the workplace gained momentum. When surveyed on the use of the technology for this purpose, 50% of respondents said they were somewhat or very concerned. However, this number varied significantly by market, reaching 56% in the UK and falling to 38% in France and 39% in Germany. This disparity perhaps reflects the strong culture of employee rights in the latter, as well as a cooling job market in the UK.

Investments in AI technologies continue at a sustained pace. According to the European Parliament, last year European countries invested a combined total of some €19.4 billion (report published in September 2025 entitled "Making Europe an AI continent"). This is significantly less than in the USA, where over €109 billion was invested during the same period. Nevertheless, the debate about a potential "AI bubble" gains momentum in the media and is being felt by companies across the world. While business leaders remain confident in the potential of AI, as highlighted by the Expleo AI Pulse confidence index, 49% surveyed in September believe we are already in an "AI bubble," compared to 41% who do not.

With adoption levels of AI growing almost exponentially, national governments and international bodies are moving to create legislation which supports growth and innovation, while protecting users. Respondents across the UK, France and Germany are overall cautiously optimistic about the capacity for regulations to strike this balance, with 50% saying they will support ethical use of AI in business, compared to just 25% believing they will not.