Embracing the Digital Transition:the Adoption of Cloud Computing and Ai by Italian Firms

The diffusion of advanced digital technologies is reshaping firm organization and performance, yet comprehensive evidence on their adoption remains scarce. This paper draws on data from the Bank of Italy’s business surveys to assess the uptake of cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) among Italian firms. As of early 2024, over 50 per cent of firms with at least 20 employees had adopted cloud services, showing minimal variation across sectors, and suggesting that the technology is becoming standard infrastructure. AI adoption remains more limited—rising from 4 per cent in 2020 to 13 per cent in 2024—and tends to be experimental or task-specific. Adoption rates are strongly associated with firm size, export activity, group affiliation, and innovation capacity. Managerial quality and prior digital investments also matter for AI uptake. Expectations around generative AI point to job transformation rather than displacement. Accordingly, the analysis reveals that digital technology adoption is positively correlated with realized and expected employment growth. JEL Classification: O33, D22, L86, J21.