2026 AI and GenIA Survey: Adoption momentum continues

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is gathering pace in Luxembourg in 2026. This is the key finding of the second edition of the study carried out by Luxinnovation and FEDIL (Federation of Luxembourg Industrialists) among 136 companies, a 20% increase in participation compared to 2025.

Nearly half of these companies are active in Information and Communication Technologies (21%), manufacturing (18%, though down 10 points from 2025), and construction and related industries (9%).

In terms of company size, 53% of survey participants employ fewer than 50 people, marking a sharp increase compared to the previous year.

Overall, the 2026 results confirm the strong momentum already observed in 2025: the use of AI across sectors and functions increased last year, despite the persistence of challenges clearly identified in 2025, including data maturity, access to skills, and the establishment of robust governance frameworks.

The functions most affected by AI adoption in Luxembourg

Artificial intelligence is primarily deployed in functions where rapid productivity gains are possible, experimentation is easier to implement, and risks are relatively low.

AI adoption in Luxembourg remains highest in IT functions (52%), but is also prominent in R&D (50%) and marketing/sales (44%), with significant use of generative AI.

Compared to 2025, adoption trends are not changing but broadening, reflecting a gradual and value-driven spread.

Productivity and efficiency: The main expected benefits of AI

AI is mainly regarded as a tool to boost productivity and efficiency: 88% of companies cite this as the primary expected benefit, well ahead of process optimisation (65%) and cost savings (64%).

However, expectations around cost efficiency are tempered by clear adoption constraints. Although AI is anticipated to deliver significant savings over time, high initial investments and uncertainty regarding return on investment continue to hinder broader deployment, particularly when moving from pilot projects to full-scale implementation.

Strategically, 70% of respondents indicate that AI initiatives are now integrated into wider digital transformation programmes, confirming that AI is gradually becoming a structural element of long-term business transformation.

The importance of expertise, costs, infrastructure and data

The barriers to AI adoption identified previously show continuity from year to year, confirming that the challenges are now less about awareness and more about structural readiness. Lack of expertise, which was the most frequently cited issue in 2025 (71% of respondents), remains the top concern, though to a lesser extent (43%). This shortage still limits companies’ ability to progress from experimentation to large-scale deployment.

Costs are now an issue for 42% of respondents (up from 21% in 2025), while data availability (39%), uncertain return on investment (35%), and IT infrastructure (30%) are also cited as factors slowing AI adoption, especially when it comes to identifying high-impact use cases.

Overall, the challenge has shifted from discovering AI’s potential to creating the right conditions in terms of skills, data, and governance to enable scalable implementation.

Data maturity: A structural challenge for AI

Collecting and storing data is not a major obstacle: more than three-quarters of companies have these valuable resources in digital form. However, far fewer have achieved the level of maturity required to fully exploit them in the context of artificial intelligence.

As a result, a structural gap persists between data as raw material and its integration and analysis for decision-making, limiting organisations’ ability to translate data into actionable insights and scalable AI applications.

An AI governance framework absent in one in two companies

AI governance is becoming a priority: 48% of companies report having formal AI policies. This figure reflects the growing need to structure governance frameworks as AI deployment accelerates.

However, nearly half of the organisations surveyed still lack formal governance frameworks, indicating that, during this transitional phase, the use of AI is advancing faster than the formalisation of governance.

This issue is particularly crucial in the field of generative AI: the rapid spread of such public and easily accessible tools highlights the need to raise awareness among organisations of the risks relating to data protection, privacy, intellectual property, compliance and security, especially when the use of this data remains unmanaged.

Luxembourg’s AI ecosystem at the service of companies

The challenge lies in the breadth of specialised knowledge required and the unprecedented speed at which AI technologies are evolving. “It is very difficult, if not impossible, for a company to master all the tools and technologies using AI on its own, as the pace of evolution is dizzying,” comments Mickael Desloges, Senior Advisor – Assessments & Roadmaps at Luxinnovation. “In Luxembourg, companies can rely on a powerful and qualified ecosystem, capable of meeting their needs regardless of the issues addressed. It is clear that companies leveraging this innovation ecosystem demonstrate higher levels of maturity in artificial intelligence.”

This is the raison d’être of the Luxembourg AI Factory, which supports all companies in their process of adopting artificial intelligence, regardless of their level of maturity. As a one-stop-shop, it provides personalised advice, access to assessment, training, data, sovereign infrastructure, and links to the local and European AI ecosystem.

In Luxembourg, companies can rely on a powerful and qualified ecosystem, capable of meeting their needs regardless of the issues addressed. Mickaël Desloges, Luxinnovation

The Luxembourg AI Factory is one of the major pillars of Luxembourg’s artificial intelligence strategy, established with the aim of accelerating the country’s digital sovereignty by 2030.

Additionally, Luxinnovation is associated with FEDIL in organising the Luxembourg AI Excellence Awards: an initiative that encourages creativity, innovation and research in companies, and recognises innovative organisations whose contributions benefit the entire Luxembourg economy.