How ready are European companies for the EU AI Act?
About 3 in 10 companies say they understand what the AI Act requires: 28 percent in two independent 2026 surveys, and 71 percent of German firms feel poorly informed. Engagement is rising fast, and the deadlines for high-risk AI moved in July 2026 to December 2027 and August 2028.
- Medium confidence
- 3 primary sources
- 2026
- Last checked
Every study on one scale
Chart values as text
- Scale: % saying they understand the AI Act well. Shaded range: 28%.
- BSI and TÜV, Germany (2026): 28% well informed
- ESSCA and Forvis Mazars (2026): 28% understand it well
Why medium confidence: Two independent surveys with different populations and methods land on the same 28%, and a third confirms the direction. No EU-wide official survey exists, so the evidence leans on Germany, is self-reported, and two of the creators sell compliance services.
Studies without a figure on this scale are listed in the table only.
Sources
| Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KI-Sicherheitsstudie 2026 | Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and TÜV-Verband, survey by forsa | 2026 | 505 companies with 20 or more employees in Germany (246 using AI), June to July 2026 | Representative survey for a federal authority and the testing association, whose members sell AI audits | 28% well informed about the Act's requirements, 71% poorly informed; of AI-using firms, 65% trained staff, 37% classified systems by risk, 23% took none of six steps “darüber fühlt sich die überwiegende Mehrheit der Befragten schlecht informiert (71 Prozent)” | tuev-verband.de ↗ |
| AI, Business and Sustainability Barometer 2026 | ESSCA School of Management with Forvis Mazars | 2026 | 826 IT and digital professionals in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, March 2026 | Survey by a business school and an audit firm that sells compliance advice; summary page only | 28% say their organization understands the AI Act well; 57% provide AI training for employees “believe their organisation has a good understanding of the EU AI Act” | essca.eu ↗ |
| Erstmals nutzt die Mehrheit der Unternehmen KI (press release and chart deck, 14 September 2026) | Bitkom | 2026 | 603 companies with 20 or more employees in Germany, July to August 2026 | Representative telephone survey by the German digital industry association | 37% expect to be affected as AI users (23% in 2025), 34% are still checking, 8% have not looked at the Act; 89% of those affected expect high effort “8 Prozent haben sich mit dem AI Act noch nicht beschäftigt” | bitkom.org ↗ |
When do the EU AI Act's rules apply?
The Act entered into force on 1 August 2024. Bans on prohibited practices and the AI literacy duty apply from 2 February 2025, rules for general-purpose AI models from 2 August 2025, and the general application date, including transparency duties, is 2 August 2026. The Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force since 27 July 2026) moved the high-risk rules to 2 December 2027 for uses such as hiring, credit and education, and to 2 August 2028 for AI built into regulated products. It also softened the AI literacy duty to taking measures to support it, and added bans on non-consensual intimate deepfakes and child abuse material from 2 December 2026. The separate data and GDPR half of the Digital Omnibus, COM(2025) 837, is still only a proposal.
| Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (Artificial Intelligence Act), Article 113 | European Parliament and Council of the European Union | 2024 | Legal text | Official text on EUR-Lex | In force 1 August 2024; bans and AI literacy from 2 February 2025; general-purpose AI rules from 2 August 2025; general application from 2 August 2026 “It shall apply from 2 August 2026.” | eur-lex.europa.eu ↗ |
| Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI) | European Parliament and Council of the European Union | 2026 | Legal text, signed 8 July 2026 | Official text on EUR-Lex; amendments in effect from 27 July 2026 | High-risk rules for Annex III uses from 2 December 2027 and for regulated products from 2 August 2028; new bans from 2 December 2026 “2 December 2027 as regards AI systems classified as high-risk pursuant to Article 6(2)” | eur-lex.europa.eu ↗ |
| Procedure file 2025/0360(COD): Digital Omnibus on data, GDPR, ePrivacy and cybersecurity | European Parliament, Legislative Observatory | 2026 | Procedure record, checked 14 October 2026 | Legislative Observatory page | Proposal COM(2025) 837, awaiting committee decision; not adopted “Awaiting committee decision” | oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu ↗ |
How many European workers get AI training?
Few, though firms are catching up. In 2024, 15% of employees in 11 EU countries took part in any AI training in the previous year (Germany 14%), while 42% said they needed to build AI skills (Cedefop). In 2026, 70% of German firms with 20 or more employees train at least some staff on AI, but only 11% train all of them (Bitkom); asked whether they had already trained staff, 27% said yes (TÜV-Verband). ICT specialists, who build and run AI systems, are 5.0% of EU employment (Germany 5.5%).
| Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skills empower workers in the AI revolution: first results of Cedefop's 2024 AI skills survey | Cedefop (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) | 2025 | 5,342 employees aged 16 to 64 in 11 EU countries, February to May 2024 | Probability-based online panels, weighted | 15% took part in AI training in the past 12 months (Germany 14%); 42% report an AI skill gap “a relatively small share (15%) of workers participated in education or training” | cedefop.europa.eu ↗ |
| TÜV Weiterbildungsstudie 2026 | TÜV-Verband, survey by forsa | 2026 | 500 companies with 20 or more employees in Germany | Representative survey for the testing association, whose members sell training | 27% of firms have already trained staff on AI (12% in 2024); 49% of firms with 250 or more employees “27 Prozent der Unternehmen haben ihre Beschäftigten bereits im Umgang mit KI geschult” | tuev-verband.de ↗ |
| Employed ICT specialists (dataset isoc_sks_itspt) | Eurostat (EU Labour Force Survey) | 2026 | EU Labour Force Survey, 2025 | Official statistics | ICT specialists 5.0% of EU employment (10.45 million people); Germany 5.5% (2.32 million) “Employed information and communications technology (ICT) specialists” | ec.europa.eu ↗ |
Numbers you may have seen
These figures circulate widely. Here is what the original source says.
- High-risk AI Act rules apply from 2 August 2026. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved them to 2 December 2027 (uses such as hiring) and 2 August 2028 (regulated products). 2 August 2026 remains the general date, including transparency duties.
- The AI Act requires every company to ensure all staff are AI literate. Since 27 July 2026, the duty is to take measures to support AI literacy, and the text says it does not require guaranteeing any level of literacy.
- The Digital Omnibus has been adopted. Only the AI part, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. The data and GDPR part, COM(2025) 837, is still awaiting a committee decision in Parliament.
- 56% of companies are completely unprepared for the AI Act (attributed to TÜV). We found no primary source for it. The BSI and TÜV study says 71% of German firms feel poorly informed and 23% of AI users have taken none of six compliance steps.
- 70% of German companies train their staff on AI (Bitkom). It includes firms training only selected employees; 11% train everyone, and TÜV-Verband finds 27% have actually trained staff.
More from Europe
- F-345–42%Which EU countries' companies use AI the most and least?
- F-359–37%What share of workers in each EU country use generative AI for work?
- F-367–17 ptsHow does AI use at work in Europe compare with the US?
- F-3748–86%How do European workers feel about AI at work?
- F-3953–66%How much do European firms care where their AI processes data?
- F-4012–14×How does AI investment in Europe compare with the US?
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