A third of Romanian employees use AI weekly, survey says

More than one in three employees in Romania (35%) use AI at least once a week to support their work, above the European average of 29%, according to a survey conducted by the European HR service provider SD Worx among 5,936 HR managers and 16,500 employees in sixteen European countries.

Similarly, some 37% of employees say they are using AI increasingly often in their day-to-day work, compared with the European average of 32%. Managers are making greater use of the technology in both Romania and across Europe: 41% say they are using AI more and more frequently, compared with 26% of non-managers.

Interest is also growing among employees who do not yet use AI: 8% expect to use the technology more frequently in their day-to-day work in the future. 

Those who are already using AI today are reaping the benefits: 68% say they work more efficiently thanks to the technology. Yet only just over half (52%) of AI users receive sufficient support from their employer to develop the skills needed to make the most of AI. 

At the same time, Romanian employees also expressed caution when it comes to AI. Around 70% believe that AI systems should clearly explain how they arrive at their conclusions, compared with 64% across Europe. 

Expectations vary regarding the ideal division of tasks between humans and AI. In Romania, just over half of employees (52%) expect to continue carrying out the majority of tasks themselves, with only limited support from AI, compared with 54% across Europe. By contrast, 41% of Romanian employees expect a collaborative model in which humans and AI share responsibilities, with AI playing a supporting role, slightly above the European average of 39%.

Employees do, however, continue to believe in their own human capabilities. In Romania, 69% of employees believe that AI cannot replace unique human qualities, very close to the European average of 68%.

Employees who already use AI today clearly have different expectations from those who do not. For example, 72% of non-users expect to continue carrying out the majority of tasks themselves, compared with just 31% of AI users. AI users are more likely to view the future as a collaboration between humans and AI: six in ten expect to share responsibilities with AI, compared with 22% of non-users.

In Romania, 58% of employees are confident that their organization uses AI ethically and responsibly, above the European average of 52%. 

The survey was carried out between 27 January and 20 February 2026 in 16 European countries: Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Sweden by the SD Worx Research Institute.

The findings come as employers prepare for the next phase of the EU AI Act. While key obligations for high-risk AI systems have been postponed to 2027 and 2028, transparency requirements will still apply from 2 August 2026. This means users must be able to recognise when they are interacting with AI, such as through a chatbot, while certain AI-generated outputs will also need to be clearly marked.

radu@romania-insider.com

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