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Berlin (dpa) – The uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) in the German economy has stagnated, a survey conducted for the German Economy Ministry by the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) suggested on Wednesday. 

Only 11.6 percent of German companies used AI in 2023, the study said, a rise of just 1 percent compared to 2021.

The survey result comes despite widespread excitement generated by new tools such as ChatGPT.

Christian Rammer, the survey’s lead author, said the findings were “surprising” as AI has become a defining technological trend in recent years.

Germany does rank well ahead of the European Union average (8 percent), but lags behind pioneering countries such as Denmark, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands. German companies in the consulting and business services sectors performed best, ranking among the top three EU countries for their use of AI.

Rammer said the figures could be an underestimate, as around 5 percent of companies surveyed reported that they were not using AI, despite having recorded using the technology in previous surveys.

“These companies have either stopped using AI in the meantime, or the AI processes have become such a natural part of business activities that the respondents were not aware of them,” he said. (28 August)

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