A European Commission survey found that 42% of the privately owned EU companies it covered said they use artificial intelligence or automated systems in the workplace. The figure combines two kinds of technology. The survey's definition of algorithmic management includes systems that organise work or support staffing decisions even when they do not use AI.

The result comes from 12,826 telephone interviews conducted from 20 March to 13 April 2026 across all 27 EU member states. The respondents were people with decision-making authority or direct knowledge of working conditions at firms with 1 to 749 employees in selected manufacturing, industry, retail and service sectors. The full Flash Eurobarometer 578 report says the survey used country-level quotas for firm size and sector, then weighted results to the size distribution of its target population.

The big change

  • What changed: A new Commission survey puts AI and non-AI workplace automation in one adoption measure. Its 42% describes reported use among covered firms, mostly limited or experimental; it cannot isolate AI use.
  • Why it matters: For business leaders and worker representatives, that wider measure brings scheduling and performance systems into the same discussion as AI tools. The survey's 36% performance-monitoring figure includes planned use, so it cannot show how common current AI monitoring is.
  • What to watch: Before using the survey as a benchmark, a firm can identify its deployed systems, whether each uses AI, the decisions it supports and who makes them. Those details determine whether the Commission's combined figure or Eurostat's AI-only measure is the relevant comparison. Neither establishes a change in job quality.

What the 42% includes

The questionnaire asked every respondent whether their company already used AI or automated systems in the workplace, used them in a limited or experimental way, planned to use them, or had no such plan. Twelve percent reported extensive use and 30% limited or experimental use. A further 21% said they did not use the tools yet but planned to, either within two years or later. These are company representatives' accounts of use and intentions, not a technical audit of installed systems.

The wording matters for another reason. Before the question, respondents were told that algorithmic management or automated systems can help managers organise tasks and schedules or support decisions about performance and staffing. Such systems may be powered by AI or may work without it. The survey does not separate AI users from users of other automated management systems in its 42% headline figure.

Among companies that already used or planned to use these tools, 47% selected customer service or client relations as a current or planned area, 36% selected monitoring performance or productivity, and 30% selected logistics, planning or scheduling related to staff management. Respondents could select more than one area. Because that question includes prospective users and planned applications, the 36% is not a measure of how many EU firms currently monitor workers with AI.

The survey also asked all respondents about trust in AI or automated systems supporting workforce decisions. Forty-nine percent said they tended not to trust them or did not trust them at all. Among companies already using the systems, 52% said the systems made suggestions while humans always decided, 38% said decisions were fully human, and 2% said decisions were fully automated without human intervention. Those answers describe the respondents' usual decision process; they do not verify how a particular workplace system operates.

A different measure from Eurostat's AI statistic

Eurostat reported that 20.0% of EU enterprises with at least 10 employees or self-employed people used specified AI technologies to conduct business in 2025. Its industry coverage and minimum firm size differ from the Commission's 2026 survey, which includes firms with 1 to 9 employees and combines AI with non-AI automated systems. The two percentages answer different questions. Their gap cannot establish how quickly AI adoption changed between 2025 and 2026.

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