Research from ServiceNow shows an 18-point gap between AI strategy and performance in EMEA.
Despite massive artificial intelligence spending, European businesses are struggling to turn their investments into measurable results, a new ServiceNow index has found.
Organizations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) surveyed for the ‘Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026’ scored 51 out of 100 for overall AI maturity – up from 34 out of 100 from last year – but managed to score 40 when it came to AI-enabled workflow.
Leadership, vision and strategy scores reached 58, according to the report, which surveyed more than 4,700 senior executives in 16 countries. 1,700 were based across EMEA.
Businesses are paying for AI capabilities they haven’t yet unlocked, the report said, and only 16 percent of those surveyed said they’re replacing disparate legacy systems with an integrated platform.
And while 59pc of surveyed professionals said their organizations had moved beyond testing agent AI, only 9pc said they had made “significant progress” in building autonomous, multi-step workflows.
This comes as global corporate AI spending is set to reach $581bn by 2025, with ServiceNow forecasting that AI will represent more than 20 per cent of corporate IT budgets by 2027. Government AI spend, meanwhile, rose 140pc year-on-year, more than any other industry surveyed.
ServiceNow identified data quality, governance and workflow infrastructure as a “significant barrier[s]” to scale AI across the business spectrum.
It also found that Irish-based businesses already working against rising costs and tighter restrictions are facing further pressure in the AI sector.
Ireland is currently making efforts to develop workers in AI, support businesses in adopting the technology and introduce new policies to attract data centers.
“Irish organizations are among the most ambitious with AI in Europe. The challenge is not commitment. It is connecting that commitment with the operational infrastructure that makes AI work across the business and, most importantly, making it live with the right monitors and governance,” explained Paul Turley, executive director at ServiceNow Ireland.
“Organizations that have closed that gap are already seeing significant returns. The difference is clear – those closing the gap aren’t just using AI, they’re using it differently, using autonomous, multi-step workflows that are about 18 times faster than the rest of the market.”
A ServiceNow survey found data to be the biggest barrier to AI implementation, with 73pc of EMEA executives citing insufficient data accuracy, access and management as major issues.
57pc of surveyed organizations in the region are using agent AI, but only 9pc are using the technology to create automated workflows, according to ServiceNow, meaning AI is simply assisting employees without significant change in how the organization operates.
Meanwhile, only 19pc of EMEA organizations said they were using AI testing, auditing and risk processes, despite stricter EU regulations applying to European organisations.
ServiceNow finds management maturity is the defining factor between organizations succeeding in the AI race or falling behind.
Successful organizations incorporate robust data management, risk assessment and management and integrated workflows, enabling them to scale AI with confidence, according to the report. As a result, they have been able to deliver a 164pc return on investment and can expect this to rise to 199pc within two years, the report said.
“Mature governance enables these organizations to grow with confidence and move faster than their peers. For Irish businesses, the EU AI Act makes governance inevitable, but the Index shows that it should be embraced rather than resisted,” ServiceNow said.
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