Accenture (NYSE:ACN) noted that European companies are accelerating in building the foundations needed to scale AI, and the readiness gap with their North American counterparts has narrowed in the past six months. But the widening divide between the continent’s biggest companies and its smaller businesses could limit how far and how fast the region can move overall. AccentureWe launched the Artificial Intelligence Progress Barometer.
Barometer traces artificial intelligence Nearly 3,000 of the world’s largest companies are prepared.
It measures the key capabilities organizations need to move beyond experiments and derive real value from AI. investments.
These include high-quality data foundations, access to skilled talent, and a strategic focus on using AI for growth and innovation rather than simply reducing costs.
Scores are calculated on a 100-point scale and compared across regions and company sizes, using late 2025 as the baseline for changes observed in the first half of 2026.
During this period, European companies increased their average readiness scores by 1.6 points.
This outpaced North America’s 1.1 point gain and Asia PacificA smaller increase of 0.2 points.
Despite stronger recent progress, North America While European companies scored 43.1 points, companies still lead the overall rankings with an average score of 48.9.
The picture becomes clearer when broken down by company size.
Europe’s largest businesses (those with annual revenues above $10 billion) scored an average of 47.4, just 2.1 points behind similar North American companies, which scored 49.5.
In stark contrast, smaller European companies trailed companies of similar size, with an average of 40.5. North America by a much larger margin of 7.6 points than its peers (48.1).
This growing inequality, sometimes described as the “long tail” of less prepared smaller firms, raises concerns about Europe’s long-term competitiveness. Large European organizations appear to be moving from initial testing phases to a broader, enterprise-wide phase artificial intelligence distribution.
But the report shows that sustainable regional progress will depend heavily on small businesses accelerating their own investments in data infrastructure, technology platforms, workforce development and process changes.
overall progress Europe This situation is also uneven, with some countries and sectors progressing faster than others.
The findings suggest that without deliberate efforts to close these internal gaps, parts of Europe economy Risk of being left behind in the global artificial intelligence race.
Small firms, which make up a significant part of the business environment, may have difficulty realizing productivity gains and growth opportunities. artificial intelligence can deliver.
Accenture analysis It suggests that closing the gap will require coordinated action, from larger companies sharing expertise and resources to targeted support to help smaller organizations build the necessary foundations.
The first edition of the barometer provides an early signal of positive momentum, but also serves as a clear warning that its uneven adoption could undermine Europe’s collective gains if left unaddressed.
Accenture to have concluded As technology continues to improve in 2026, the coming months and the next update of the barometer will show whether this is possible. Europe It can maintain its current pace while providing wider participation in companies of all sizes.
