Sweden and the Nordic countries risks losing ground when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence. It shows EY global Work Reimagined Survey 2025, where 15,000 employees and 1,500 employers in 29 countries participated.
The study points to clear gaps in both access to AI-related skills and how the technology is used in everyday life. Compared to the global average, Sweden and the Nordic countries lag significantly behind.
Limited AI training in Sweden and the Nordics
In Sweden, 60 percent of employees report having received less than four hours of AI training. Only 13 percent have received more than 40 hours. training. In the Nordic countries, the figures are similar. 54 percent have received less than four hours, while around 20 percent say they have received more than 40 hours.
The results indicate that many organizations are still at an early stage when it comes to structured AI skills development.
Lower usage than the global average
The differences become even clearer when it comes to actual use of AI. Globally, nine out of ten employees say they use AI in some form. In Sweden, the corresponding share is 76 percent. Only 40 percent use AI daily or weekly, which is significantly lower than the global average of 65 percent.
This indicates that AI in many Swedish and Nordic organizations is not yet fully integrated into daily work.
AI skills require more than education
The study shows that employees who have received more than 40 hours of AI training save an average of ten hours per week. Those who have received minimal training save an average of three hours. At the same time, it is clear that training in itself is not enough to create real value.
As technology evolves rapidly, continuous application, experimentation, and everyday learning become crucial to building true AI competence.
– One-off training sessions are no longer enough. In order for employees to keep up with developments, they need to be able to apply their new skills on an ongoing basis and continue to build on them in their everyday lives, says Cecilia Althin, Partner in People Consulting at EY.
Talent moves on when AI is not used in practice
The study also shows that employees who have invested time in learning AI but are not given the opportunity to use the knowledge in their roles are more likely to leave their employers. The trend is particularly clear among the groups that have received the most training.
It is therefore not only access to training that affects retention, but the extent to which organizations enable the practical use of AI in everyday life.
AI is mainly used for simpler tasks
Despite the rapid development of technology, AI in many organizations is still used primarily for relatively basic tasks, such as summaries, simple analyses, information retrieval, and text processing.
More advanced applications, such as automation of complex processes, integration into core operations, and data-driven decision support, have not yet had a broad impact in Sweden and the Nordic region. This reinforces the gap between the potential of the technology and the actual impact in business.
“We are close to a point where AI is no longer a competitive advantage but a necessity. When development moves faster than our ability to learn, we risk standing still while the world moves forward. Companies that believe that an AI course is enough underestimate how quickly the gap between basic use and real value creation is growing,” says Cecilia Althin.
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