Questions and answers on the Apply AI Strategy

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

How does the Apply AI Strategy complement the AI Continent Action Plan?

The AI Continent Action Plan, launched in April 2025, is the EU’s roadmap for making Europe a global leader in AI. It strengthens the key pillars of the European AI economy: computing infrastructure, data, algorithms, talent and a strong single market.

The Apply AI Strategy is the EU’s overarching sectoral AI Strategy. It links with initiatives such as the AI in Science Strategy and the upcoming Data Union Strategy. Its governance mechanism ensures central coordination of AI-related actions across the Commission. While the Action Plan sets the overall framework, the Apply AI Strategy focuses on uptake, helping industries and the public sector adopt AI, promoting European AI solutions, in particular open source. It follows a sectoral approach, with actions grounded in the practical realities and challenges of European industries.

How is the strategy structured?

The first chapter sets out sectoral actions to boost AI use in key industries and the public sector. The second chapter addresses cross-cutting challenges, including support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enabling an AI-ready workforce, leveraging advanced AI capabilities, and ensuring trust in the market. The final chapter establishes a single governance mechanism to foster collaboration among stakeholders.

What are the strategic sectors covered in the strategy and how were they selected?

The strategy focuses on sectors where Europe is traditionally strong and that have the greatest impact on the EU economy. The selection was guided by the Draghi report on EU Competitiveness, public consultations and an analysis of industrial priorities.

The sectors covered include healthcare and pharmaceuticals; mobility, transport and automotive; robotics; manufacturing, engineering and construction; climate and environment; energy; agri-food; defence, security and space; electronic communications; and cultural, creative and media industries.

What is the role of the Apply AI Alliance?

The Apply AI Alliance will be the main coordination forum for stakeholders and policymakers. It will allow participants to join sectoral workflows, connect directly with policy makers, and discuss impacts, barriers and opportunities of specific AI solutions.

The Alliance will also link other consultative initiatives on AI, connect peers, providers and users, for example, matching developers of compliance tools with potential adopters.

What kind of actions are proposed in the strategic sectors?

The strategy outlines sector-specific measures. In healthcare, it establishes a network of AI-powered advanced screening centres. In the mobility, it supports scaled deployment of autonomous driving. In robotics, it creates a catalyst to bring together developers and users, accelerating the development and uptake of European solutions. It also proposes developing frontier models and agentic AI tailored to manufacturing, climate, environment and pharmaceuticals.

How will the strategy support European SMEs?

SMEs are at the core of the strategy. The European AI innovation ecosystem, composed of AI Factories and Gigafactories, European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), Testing and Experimentation Facilities, AI regulatory sandboxes, the AI-on-Demand Platform and the AI Skills Academy, the AI innovation ecosystem, serves the needs of startups and SMEs across the AI value chain.

To simplify access, the EDIHs will act as single-entry points to this ecosystem, offering a simple, flexible and seamless digital journey for mid-caps, SMEs, startups and public sector organisations.

Now refocused asExperience Centres for AI,the EDIHs will support EU’s AI first policy. They will also promote the adoption of European AI solutions to foster the growth of the EU’s domestic AI ecosystem.

What role do skills and AI literacy play?

The growing use of AI in businesses and the public sector is reshaping labour markets. It is essential to ensure that workers across sectors have the skills to use AI responsibly and effectively. The strategy will therefore promote AI literacy trainings tailored to sectors and job profiles.

This will be delivered primarily via the AI Skills Academy, which will aggregate courses from instruments such as EDIHs and AI Factories. To maximise reskilling and upskilling, the strategy also encourages industry involvement via the Pact for Skills and the Skill Guarantee announced in the Union of Skills, targeting workers at risk of displacement.

The strategy aims to expand the pool of AI sectoral specialists and entrepreneurs, starting with digitally intensive industries such as mobility, energy, environment, and cultural and creative sectors (including media). It will support ‘AI for business’ executive master programmes and an AI entrepreneurs lab.

Finally, the strategy calls for active monitoring of AI’s impact on the labour market to anticipate needs, opportunities and risks, and to inform policies at both EU and Member State level.

How will the strategy advance the use of European AI solutions?

Beyond sectoral actions to boost AI uptake in EU’s strategic sectors, the Apply AI Strategy launches a Frontier AI Initiative. This will accelerate Europe’s progress in advanced AI by bringing together Europe’s leading industrial and academic actors. It will focus on unlocking capabilities through cutting-edge AI architectures and high-quality data, using the computing power of the AI Factories and Gigafactories. A call for expressions of interest will bring the community together. The initiative will address ecosystem bottlenecks and downstream demand by Europe’s industry, enhancing both competitiveness and sovereignty in frontier AI development.

The Commission will also launch major EU-wide competitions to develop open frontier AI models, as key drivers of innovation. These projects will have free access to EuroHPC supercomputers, and the resulting models will be made available to public authorities, researchers, and businesses across Europe.

What is the investment behind the strategy?

Under the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, the Apply AI Strategy mobilises around €1 billion for flagship and supporting actions, with leverage effects varying across sectors. Funding comes from Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, and other programmes such as EU4Health and Creative Europe.

With this initial €1 billion boost, the strategy relies on Member States and the private sector to match its investments ambition. The Apply AI Alliance will also launch a consultation process highlight needs and opportunities, ensuring the EU continues to support promising and groundbreaking AI in the future.

How does the strategy support compliance with the AI Act?

As announced in the AI Continent Action Plan, the Commission has set up the AI Act Service Desk, launched alongside the strategy. This central hub will provide all relevant information, compliance tools and tailored guidance on the AI Act. It will offer a single information platform with interactive tools, including a compliance checker to help stakeholders see if they are subject to legal obligations and what steps they need to take to comply.

How will the strategy be monitored?

The Commission will establish an AI Observatory to provide robust indicators assessing AI’s impact on specific sectors, monitor developments and trends, as well as the changes it may bring to the labour market.

The Observatory will support sectoral discussions and inform political decision-making, while keeping the AI community and the wider public updated on developments in the field.

How was the strategy developed?

The strategy builds on insights from sector specific AI use cases and the opportunities and barriers identified for their adoption. In this context, the Commission organised:

• 17 sectoral structured dialogues with thousands of stakeholders;
• two high-level dialogues with company leaders from strategic sectors;
• consultations with Member States through the AI Board;
• a series of interviews with sector experts.

Over 500 stakeholders also contributed to a public consultation and call for evidence. The Commission worked with organisations such as the OECD to align concepts, exchange insights and develop common frameworks, including a methodology for measuring public and private investments in AI.

What role will Member States play?

The Commission will work closely with Members States and encourage them to align their national AI strategies with the sectoral approach proposed in the Apply AI Strategy. The Commission prioritises the uptake of trustworthy European AI solutions and will explore with Member States how to create stronger demand for them.