Amazon Web Services (AWS) has presented the findings of the “Unlocking Greece’s AI Potential 2025” study, which show that 34% of Greek businesses now systematically use Artificial Intelligence, compared to 22% last year. This 55% year-on-year increase is the second highest in Europe.
Today, more than 400,000 Greek businesses are using AI solutions, with approximately 60,000 adopting them within the past year—the equivalent of one company every eight minutes.
Greece’s fast-growing startup ecosystem is leading innovation in Artificial Intelligence. More than half of Greek startups have already adopted AI solutions, while more than a quarter are already leveraging advanced applications such as combining multiple models or developing customized systems. Startups show much higher growth rates in developing new AI-based products and services compared to large corporations, which remain mostly limited to basic automation applications or pilot use cases.
This divergence highlights the need to support larger enterprises in moving from experimentation to full-scale strategic AI integration. Among the companies that have already implemented AI, 89% reported increased revenues, with an average growth rate of 18%, confirming AI’s critical role in competitiveness and value creation. Companies also reported a significant boost in productivity, freeing up time to enhance customer service and drive innovation, further strengthening the link between AI adoption and business performance.
The skills gap emerges as the biggest barrier to scaling AI. Only 18% of companies state that they possess strong in-house AI capabilities, while 45% face difficulties finding domestic talent. More than half of companies report that the lack of AI skills is limiting innovation, while nearly half are seeing increased operating costs due to insufficient digital knowledge.
To attract the right talent, companies say they are willing to offer on average 42% higher salaries to candidates with strong digital skills, and 27% of companies have already implemented AI-specific training programs. Around one in three employees received digital training over the past year.
Beyond skills, Greek businesses face high compliance costs and regulatory uncertainty. Companies estimate that €43 out of every €100 spent on technology goes toward regulatory compliance—a rate above the European average—and most expect this burden to grow over the next three years.
The study was conducted by Strand Partners on behalf of AWS and is based on two nationally representative tracking surveys: one of 1,000 Greek businesses (by size, sector and NUTS 1 region) and one of 1,000 citizens (by age, gender and NUTS 1 region).
