As much as 77 percent companies want to increase spending on introducing artificial intelligence-based tools over the next 18 monthsas many as 1/3 of them declare a significant increase in their budgets for AI – according to the latest EY study. The well-known company examined as many as 499 medium and large companies operating in Poland and checked their approach to this technology.
Planned investments – as we read in the study – are largely the result of previous experience: 53 percent respondents point out that the implementation of artificial intelligence has reduced costs, 52 percent to improve the quality of services and 49 percent to increase company revenues.
However, EY experts warn against excessive optimism, because research shows that this picture is heterogeneous. Most companies are in the early stages of their AI transformation. EY research shows that the largest part of the surveyed enterprises (67%) is at level three or lower on the 5-point AI maturity scale, which means that some of them already use AI in many areas, and some are at the stage of first experiments. As of today, only 10 percent. Polish companies admit that thanks to AI they transform their business models and create innovative products and services.
“Same thing, only faster”
— You could say that most companies are using AI to do the same thing, only faster. These are many point solutions – from chatbots to simple automations, which facilitate the implementation of activities, but usually do not translate into a radical change and improvement of financial results. Management boards see growing spending on AI today, but more than half of companies do not see a significant impact of the investment on profit. Leaving this stage requires not so much further implementations as a change of approach. The real advantage comes when AI supports business transformation and is not just a technological project, says Bartosz Pacuszka, partner and leader of the AI Technology team at EY Polska.
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“This trap of being stuck in a dangerous comfort zone and implementing many scattered initiatives applies to every industry,” the analysis says. According to an EY study, in the highly digitized financial industry, as many as 72 percent companies are at AI maturity levels 2 and 3. In the energy sector, only 21 percent companies use AI in a more advanced way, and 42 percent only carries out the first implementations. In industry 29 percent companies are at stage 3 of maturity. The trade sector stands out slightly against this background, where 23 percent companies declare the use of AI in key business processes, but EY experts point out that most implementations are point-wise anyway.
— Today, the market rewards not those companies that implement AI the fastest, but those for which artificial intelligence is a well-thought-out, strategic business project intended to support the long-term goals of the company. This is important because for many companies today it is a strictly technological project, and in such a situation, AI will not bring as much value to the business as it could – says Piotr Ciepiela, partner and Technology Consulting Leader from EY Polska.
“Year of verification”
Experts add that this year will be a time of verification of many AI projects. — We clearly see that organizations that implement artificial intelligence in their key processes are able to achieve real value much faster – and this happens despite limitations, data security, regulatory requirements or organizational readiness. What turns out to be key here is clear business goals and full commitment at the management level, which gives implementing teams adequate support in overcoming barriers and the opportunity to focus on achieving goals – adds Bartosz Pacuszka.
The study “How Polish companies implement AI” was carried out on behalf of EY by CubeResearch among 499 Polish companies: 45 percent. works in production, 33 percent in services, 22 percent in trade. 56 percent respondents came from medium-sized companies, 44 percent from the big ones. The third edition was carried out in the last quarter of 2025.
