The K&H Innovation Index survey for the first half of 2026 shows that 58 percent of Hungarian mid-size and large companies — defined as those with at least HUF 300 million in annual revenue — now use some form of artificial intelligence (AI). Six months earlier that share was 48 percent. At the same time, the proportion of companies conducting AI development rose from 24 percent to 36 percent.
Which companies and functions use AI?
AI use is particularly widespread in the services sector, where 66 percent of companies report using such solutions. By revenue bracket, the largest firms (those with more than HUF 4 billion in annual revenue) lead adoption: 72 percent of these companies use AI.
The most common AI application is text translation, used by 39 percent of firms; this share has doubled in one year and tripled in two years. Text processing tasks (for example generating summaries or drafting emails) are also common at 33 percent, and support for marketing communications is used by 22 percent — this latter figure has doubled since the second half of 2024. Beyond these areas, AI now appears across many business functions, including customer service, process automation and decision support.
AI as part of broader digital transformation
The rise in AI development fits into wider digitalisation efforts: 57 percent of companies reported significant digital improvements. That suggests AI is increasingly becoming an integral part of digital transformation rather than a standalone technological experiment.
The survey also finds a strong link between innovation activity and AI use: 65 percent of companies that introduced a new product or service in the past two years employ AI. The connection is even stronger among firms that received innovation funding — 80 percent of those companies use AI, well above the sector average.
Expert perspective
"The use of artificial intelligence has visibly moved out of the experimental phase. Companies today are not only testing these solutions but increasingly integrating them into many business areas, although most often in the most obvious domains. One of the key questions for the coming period will be how much AI can contribute to more efficient operations, better customer service and the development of new services, in other words the business value it ultimately creates," said Lóska Gergely, K&H's head of IT and innovation.
Conclusions
According to the K&H survey, AI adoption is accelerating among Hungarian mid-size and large companies, especially among higher-revenue and innovation-oriented firms. The trend indicates that AI is moving from pilot projects toward becoming a core element of corporate operations and digital transformation.
