Employees in Romania are among the last globally in AI use, report shows
Only about 44% of employees in Romania say they have used AI in the past year, while the average usage rate in the 48 countries included in the report was 57%, according to the PwC Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 report.
India and Vietnam are at the top, with 84%, followed by China (78%). At the opposite end are Japan and Hungary, where less than 40% of employees have used AI in their work. With 44%, Romania ranks 41st out of the 48 countries analyzed in the report.
AI usage rates among employees in Romania vary widely depending on the roles they have in organizations, but also depending on generation. Around 64% of senior executives and 59% of managers say they have used AI at work in the last 12 months, compared to only 35% of non-managers. By generation, 57% of Generation Z employees say they use AI, compared to 44% of millennials and 35% of Generation X workers.
Daily use of AI technologies among Romanian employees is also among the lowest of the countries analyzed: approximately 6% of total workers use generative AI tools daily (the global average is 14%), and only around 2% use AI agents daily (compared to 6% globally).
Employees in Romania are among the least enthusiastic about the impact of AI on their work, with only a third declaring themselves so, below the global average of 41%. On the other hand, 49% of local respondents are curious about how AI will influence their work, close to the global average of 50%, and 24% declare themselves worried.
For Romanian employees who use AI, 75% notice improved work quality, 69% increased creativity, and 64% productivity gains. Expectations are optimistic in the medium term as well: in the next three years, 58% anticipate quality improvements, 56% productivity gains, and 52% increases in creativity. Less than a third (31%) expect AI use to also bring them higher incomes.
However, when it comes to the factors that will influence their work the most in the coming years, Romanian employees mention other factors: half believe that regulatory changes will have a strong impact on the job, and 43% cite geopolitical conflicts, while only 39% mention technological transformation.
“It was expected that legislative changes and geopolitical conflicts would be considered priorities by Romanian employees, given that 2025 brought many legislative and fiscal changes that negatively affect companies and, implicitly, are reflected in the situation of employees. However, there is good news, namely that those who use AI discover the benefits and can influence adoption on a larger scale,” said Oana Munteanu, Director of PwC Romania.
For now, the PwC Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 report shows that 60% of employees in Romania declare themselves very optimistic about the future of their role in the company, one of the highest percentages among the 48 countries analyzed, while the global average is 53%.
Also, 72% of local workers believe they will have at least moderate control over how technology affects their work, compared to 69% globally.
On the other hand, when it comes to the impact of AI on entry-level jobs, 41% of Romanian managers who participated in the survey believe that AI will reduce the number of these jobs in their organizations in the next three years, and only 25% expect increases.
PwC Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 is one of the largest global workforce studies, with nearly 50,000 respondents from 48 countries and 28 industry sectors. The data for Romania reflects the responses of 500 employees from all counties of the country.
(Photo source: Nataliia Mysik | Dreamstime.com)
