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AI and SMEs in Europe: Europe is accelerating, but the real gap is still to be filled
A new report from Accenture on European AI Readiness brings good news and a wake-up call together. European companies have improved their AI readiness index by 1.6 points in the last six months, surpassing the growth recorded in North America, which remains at 1.1 points. Italy, in particular, shows a leap of 2.9 points — the highest figure among the major European countries, even surpassing France, the United Kingdom, and Spain.
This is the first edition of the AI Progress Barometer, the biannual observatory with which Accenture measures the level of AI readiness of around 3,000 of the largest companies in the world, assessing four key dimensions: strategic direction, technological foundations, people skills, and process reinvention.
The overall picture: Europe is catching up, but still lags behind
Despite the improvement, the gap with North America remains wide: North American companies currently stand at 48.9 points out of 100, compared to 43.1 for Europe. An encouraging sign, therefore, but one that needs to be confirmed in the next surveys before we can talk about a real turnaround.
The real problem: the gap between large groups and SMEs
The most significant data from the report, however, concerns the internal polarization within the continent. Large European companies (those with revenues exceeding 10 billion dollars) are now only 2.1 points away from their North American competitors. Smaller companies, on the other hand, lag behind by 7.6 points compared to their North American counterparts.
This means that the growth recorded at the European level is driven almost exclusively by large groups, which have the resources to invest in infrastructure, specialist skills, and the reorganisation of processes. SMEs — which in Italy as in Belgium represent the backbone of the productive fabric — are falling behind, with direct repercussions on productivity, competitiveness, and the ability to attract investments.
As highlighted by the leaders of Accenture, the real challenge for Europe will not only be to accelerate the adoption of new tools but to rethink processes, operational models, and skills in a widespread manner — also including smaller companies, without which progress risks remaining partial and uneven.
What it means for Italian SMEs in Belgium and Europe
For Italian SMEs operating in Belgium and more generally in the European market, the message that emerges from this data is clear: artificial intelligence is no longer a tool to be postponed to the future, but a competitive factor of the present. Companies that do not start today on a path — even gradual — of AI adoption risk finding themselves in a position of structural disadvantage compared to those who have already begun to integrate it into their processes.
It does not necessarily involve significant investments or radical transformations: even modest steps, if well directed (from the quality of business data to the training of people), can make a difference in the medium term.
The role of the Chamber
The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Belgium closely monitors these developments, with the aim of providing member companies with concrete tools to navigate the path of adopting artificial intelligence and not be excluded from this transformation.
Source: Accenture, AI Progress Barometer (first edition, June 2026)