The Artificial Intelligence landscape in Italy is experiencing unprecedented momentum. According to the latest findings from the Artificial Intelligence Observatory of the School of Management at Politecnico di Milano, the Italian AI market reached €1.8 billion in 2025, registering a remarkable 50% year-on-year growth. This surge underscores a fundamental transition as Italian organisations shift from cautious experimentation to integrating AI directly into core business functions.
The rapid expansion of the market is primarily driven by two major forces: large-scale enterprise projects and the booming adoption of ready-to-use Generative AI solutions.
Currently, 71% of large Italian companies have launched at least one AI project, with 60% reporting a significant positive impact on their business models. At the same time, 84% of large enterprises have purchased licences for ready-to-use Generative AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT Plus, and Gemini Advanced, representing a 31% increase in adoption within just a single year. Whilst traditional recommendation systems continue to maintain a steady market share, advanced capabilities like Agentic AI and smart process orchestration are rapidly gaining traction as businesses leverage Large Language Models for complex automation.
Despite these impressive growth figures, the research highlights a dual-speed economy in Italy’s digital transformation. Small and medium-sized enterprises lag significantly behind, as only 15% of medium-sized businesses and 7% of small businesses have active AI projects. Although roughly one-fifth of SMEs are evaluating near-term adoption, financial constraints and the difficulty of estimating cost-benefit ratios upfront remain major structural barriers. Moreover, companies are struggling to keep pace with technology. Only 19% of workers rely exclusively on enterprise-provided AI software, whilst 8 out of 10 employees utilise external tools, prompting 40% of large firms to introduce strict usage guidelines.
Artificial Intelligence is also fundamentally altering productivity and skill requirements across the Italian workforce. Among employees already using these technologies, 41% state that AI enables them to perform complex tasks they would otherwise be unable or under-equipped to complete independently. This shift has triggered a dramatic surge in talent demand, with job postings requiring AI skills skyrocketing by 93%. Furthermore, 76% of high-skilled white-collar job offers now list AI proficiency as a key requirement, shifting the focus beyond core IT roles towards business professionals capable of managing Generative AI and AI Agents.
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The full report (in Italian) is available at the following link: https://www.osservatori.net/comunicato/artificial-intelligence/intelligenza-artificiale-italia/