Turku Chamber of Commerce has for the past two years asked member companies about their use of AI. Looking into the results of this year’s survey, we concluded that – according to answers from 89 local companies – AI is mostly utilized for personal work assignments, i.e. office work. This is both encouraging and frustrating: new technology takes time to take root, but at the same time we could be doing much more.
When analyzing the results further, we can find a clear and interesting division: large companies – and the smallest companies – have made the most use of AI in their core business. This result holds true whether the metric is the number of employees (under 10 and over 250) or turnover (under €2 million, over €50 million). A difference emerges when asked whether a separate budget has been allocated for the use of AI: 44 % of large companies have allocated a budget, compared to only 8 % of all other companies.
The best predictor of a company’s use of artificial intelligence is the respondent’s – usually the CEO’s – personal use of AI applications.
– Among companies where the respondent personally uses AI applications 93 % utilize AI in their core business, compared to 45 % of all respondents.
– These companies are also significantly more likely to allocate a budget for AI use and to measure the outcomes of AI.
– Notably, all respondents representing organizations with over 250 employees had personally used AI.
– Among respondents who do not personally use AI applications, only 7% report using AI in their company’s core business.
However, this study does not allow conclusions about causality: does a CEO who uses AI drive the company to adopt it, or does the company’s investment in AI inspire the CEO to start using various applications?
Unfortunately we cannot take a deep dive into different industries in this surveys, but here are a few observations from the largest industries in the survey (most respondents):
– In manufacturing, 63 % use AI in other business functions (compared to 45 % of all respondents), but only 18 % use it in core business operations (compared to 34 % overall).
– The information and communication sector leads in both budgeting for and measuring AI use, and is also considered to have the highest readiness to utilize AI.
To move from experimentation to transformation, leadership matters. The data clearly shows that when decision-makers personally engage with AI, their organizations are far more likely to integrate it into core operations, allocate resources, and measure impact. This insight offers a clear path forward: if we want to accelerate meaningful AI adoption in Southwest Finland, we must empower and challenge leaders—especially in SMEs—to explore AI hands-on. Whether through peer learning, targeted training, or strategic partnerships, the next step is to curiosity into capability.
