Polish Workers Rank Among World's Top AI Talent, Businesses Lag Behind

Polish employees know more about artificial intelligence than the vast majority of the world, but their employers are failing to put that knowledge to use. That is the conclusion of the Global Outsourcing AI Readiness Index 2026, published in late August 2026 by the American consulting firm Ataraxis Management, which covered 25 leading outsourcing countries worldwide.

The index authors evaluated countries across four categories: employee AI knowledge, enterprise readiness to deploy the technology, widespread AI adoption among the population, and the quality of the educational base training future talent. Poland's results were uneven, excellent in the two people-focused categories, weak in what companies themselves should be doing.

Where the worker edge comes from

In the AI knowledge category, Poland's score of 70 points trailed only India (89 points), Brazil and the Philippines (76 points each), countries traditionally associated with global IT outsourcing and mass training of specialists for foreign corporations. In talent development, meaning the quality of educational pathways preparing workers for AI-related jobs, Poland ranked 5th in the world with 74 points.

The report's authors note that this pattern of results, workers clearly ahead of companies, is unusual. In most of the economies studied, it is enterprises that invest in AI tools faster, with workforce competence catching up later.

Poland shows a profile we rarely see: employees are ahead of enterprises in AI readiness, rather than the other way around - George Atuahene, CEO and founder of Ataraxis

Where business falls short

AI adoption at Polish companies was rated at just 48 points, the weakest of Poland's four scores in the index and a gap of 22 points relative to employee competence. In practice, this means companies have a workforce capable of using AI effectively, but are not building the processes, strategies or infrastructure needed to put that knowledge to use.

A similar conclusion, though based on a different methodology, has been confirmed by earlier Polish market research: companies are buying AI tools faster than they are teaching employees and managers how to use them sensibly. In the Ataraxis index, however, this gap appears against an international backdrop, which makes it more damaging to Poland's competitiveness as an outsourcing location.

Poland compared with the region

In the category of widespread AI adoption among the population, Poland scored 57 points, tying with Indonesia for 14th place. That is significantly weaker than its regional neighbors, Hungary topped this category worldwide with 86 points, and Bulgaria took 2nd place with 82 points, which the report's authors cite as evidence that Central and Eastern European countries today have some of the highest rates of AI adoption among their populations in the world.

In the overall regional ranking, Poland placed fourth from last in Central and Eastern Europe with a score of 61.2 points. Ahead of it were Hungary (69.1 points), Czechia (66.9 points) and Bulgaria (62.8 points), while only Romania, with 59.4 points, ranked behind it.

What this means for Poland

For Poland's IT outsourcing and business services market, one of the pillars of employment in the country's tech sector, the result carries real reputational weight. Countries such as India and the Philippines compete for contracts from foreign corporations partly on the quality and scale of their AI-ready workforce, and Poland performs well on that front, but its overall ranking is dragged down by the weakness of its companies.

The index authors point out that how quickly Polish enterprises begin closing the gap with their already-skilled workforce will determine whether Poland climbs in future editions of the ranking or continues to fall behind its regional competitors despite its workforce's competence advantage.