Survey: 27% of Latvian companies use AI, mostly for marketing and data analysis
27% of Latvia’s companies use artificial Intelligence (AI), most often in such areas as marketing, data analysis and reporting, and customer service, according to a survey* commissioned by OP Corporate Bank. Among the Baltic countries, Estonia is the clear leader in the use of AI: more than half, or 54%, of companies in Estonia use AI, while less than a third of companies in Latvia and Lithuania do so.
The survey has found that relatively few companies in Latvia use AI, and only for certain purposes – marketing, data analysis, customer service and sales. Furthermore, companies very rarely use AI for accounting, logistics and finance, for example.
“AI has substantial potential – it can automate simple tasks as well as solve complex business challenges. We are currently focusing on AI solutions to make them effective support in our day-to-day work, and are systematically investing in employee education to train our colleagues on the capabilities of AI tools, encouraging them to make good use of these tools,” says Elmārs Prikšāns, head of the Latvian branch of OP Corporate Bank plc.
He believes that it is important for companies to proactively identify areas where AI can drive innovation across the organisation’s structure.
“Strategic and targeted rollout of AI will help strengthen companies’ competitiveness, optimise operational activities, and improve customer experience,” says Elmārs Prikšāns.
AI is mostly used in the IT and service industries
The findings of the survey show that the use of AI varies across industries. AI is more commonly used in IT, services and customer service industries, healthcare and trade, and rarely in such industries as transport, logistics and agriculture.
Even though it may seem that there are sectors where AI is not applicable, it can bring many valuable benefits to companies that currently use AI the least. Global practice shows that in agriculture, for example, AI can help accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture – from soil moisture level or pest monitoring and planning crop yields to risk management and financial planning. At logistics companies, AI can be useful, for example, in route optimisation, warehouse automation and even reducing CO2 emissions.
Estonian businesses use AI more extensively
A comparison of data from the three Baltic countries makes it clear that Estonian businesses use AI significantly more – more than half, or 54%, of respondents said so. Meanwhile, in Latvia and Lithuania, just over a quarter, or 27%, of companies use AI.
Across the Baltic countries, companies use AI most in marketing, especially in Latvia, where 39% of businesses surveyed said that they used AI on a regular basis for marketing, and as many said that they used AI for marketing occasionally. 23% of companies in Estonia and 22% in Lithuania use Ai for marketing regularly.
“We can see from the survey that marketing teams are often the first to embrace AI at their companies, but the potential is much greater. The real power of AI lies in its versatility and the ability to tailor solutions even to very specific tasks unique to a particular industry or company. That is why companies that look beyond the obvious in introducing AI and look for ways to make the most out of it will be the winners," explains Elmārs Prikšāns.
* The survey commissioned by OP Corporate Bank was carried out by market research company Rait by interviewing representatives from more than 300 companies in various industries in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in February 2025.