Only one in five Finnish companies looks to AI primarily for growth, OP Pohjola survey finds
According to OP Pohjola’s Yrityspulssi (Business Pulse) survey, only 22% of Finnish companies prioritise business growth over internal efficiency in their use of AI. In one in three companies, AI investment is driven by caution rather than the pursuit of opportunity.
Martti Asikainen | 3.10.2026 | Photo by Adobe Stock Photos
Half of Finland’s largest companies are not using artificial intelligence to grow their business at all, according to a survey by OP Pohjola, Finland’s largest financial services group. Among all respondents, only 22% said they prioritised growth over internal efficiency when using AI, while 28% were undecided.
The finding on large companies applies to those with a turnover of at least €200 million. Across the sample, one in three firms said their AI investments were guided by caution rather than the pursuit of opportunity. A further 45% disagreed, and 21% neither agreed nor disagreed.
"We can't afford to be left on the platform"
Katja Keitaanniemi, chief executive of OP Corporate Bank, said it was striking that so many respondents could not say what they wanted to achieve with AI or what was guiding their decisions.
“Companies know that the AI train is moving fast and that no one can afford to be left on the platform,” she said.
But for the sake of growth and innovation, Keitaanniemi argued, it was vital for firms to stop and think about strategy and make sure their AI investments were heading in the right direction.
According to Eurostat, 38% of Finnish companies with at least ten employees used AI in 2025, the second-highest share in the EU after Denmark.
Previous research has shown that Finnish firms pursue growth more cautiously than their international peers, and Keitaanniemi said the same pattern was visible in their use of AI.
“Finland is one of Europe’s leaders in AI adoption, but that alone doesn’t mean we’ll win the AI race. If we think too small and just look for a faster horse, we’ll never invent the car,” she said.
Few can measure the payoff
Although AI is widely used in Finnish business, only 15% of respondents said they could reliably measure its impact. Nearly half (48%), however, believed they knew what kind of business value they wanted from it.
The results echo a study published by OP Pohjola and Accenture earlier this year, in which 71% of business leaders said their organisation’s use of AI focused on operational efficiency.
Only 11% had a clear AI strategy, and 70% had yet to see any measurable business impact. Even so, 38% expected to increase their AI investment by at least a quarter over the next two years.
“What will decide the AI race isn’t how many employees are using AI agents. What matters is where the export products, intellectual property and business models of the future are created. If Finland is merely a user of technology developed elsewhere, the value could end up abroad,” Keitaanniemi said.
