OpenAI sees European agent use grow, but global gap persists

AI agents now account for 55% of output tokens among OpenAI’s enterprise and business customers in the EU, as businesses shift toward tools that carry out tasks. The measure tracks generated output, not the proportion of companies using agents, so it does not establish that agent adoption is more widespread than basic generative AI use. Activity varies considerably, with Slovenia at 22% and Lithuania at 85%.

European SME AI agent usage increased more than 8x in less than half a year, with the sharpest rise coinciding with the public launch of ChatGPT Work. OpenAI links that shift to making agentic capabilities more accessible through its “superapp,” allowing smaller businesses to experiment with tools previously associated with larger enterprises.

The EU nevertheless accounts for around 10% of global frontier firms, defined as businesses in the top tenth ranked by AI output tokens per active user. North America accounts for 65%. Between May and September, non-EU frontier firms recorded 12.9x growth, compared with 6.1x for EU firms. OpenAI is encouraging organizations to move beyond trials and experimentation, highlighting accessibility, affordability and workforce skills as priorities for broader use.