Bulgarian companies are adopting artificial intelligence faster than firms anywhere else in the region, putting the country at the top of the list for AI-driven digitalisation, a new study shows. EY Bulgaria presented its "Entrepreneurship Barometer 2026" this afternoon at its office in the Poligrafia Office Center in Sofia.

AI use in Bulgaria has hit 86% this year, up from 71% a year ago, against a regional average of 76%. The same share of respondents say AI use at their company has grown over the past 12 months. The share of companies putting no money into AI has dropped from 52% to 22%.

Other technologies are growing too: 67% of firms use data analysis, 60% use cloud services and 38% use the internet of things.

Expectations for what the technology can deliver are falling, though. Now 68% expect AI to improve how their business runs, down from 87% a year earlier. The study's authors say this points to more realistic attitudes, and that the sharp jump in AI use marks a shift toward real digitalisation and automation. Entrepreneurs, they say, are moving from a phase of optimism to one focused on getting real value.

Cybersecurity ranks as a top priority for only 33% of Bulgarian firms, compared with 51% across the region. The report's authors call this a gap and a risk, especially as online threats keep growing.

Views on the business climate have shifted sharply in a year. 43% of Bulgarian entrepreneurs now call it favourable or very favourable, up from 26% a year ago, while 25% call it unfavourable, down from 42%. Another 30% are neutral. 49% of respondents name the political and economic situation as their main problem, and the report also lists red tape and regulation, along with a shortage of skilled staff, among the main hurdles. Even so, the barometer shows firms in Bulgaria are optimistic, plan to grow and hire, and are seeing productivity rise thanks to AI.

The share of entrepreneurs who say they would not sell their company in the next 12 months has fallen from 90% to 63%. The authors say a greater willingness to sell the business or bring in partners signals more mature thinking about entrepreneurship and capital.

Mario Milev, executive director of the Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Association (BESCO), said Bulgarian entrepreneurs are now in an "AI-first" phase, using AI as a tool to solve problems. The next stage, he said, is "AI-native," when AI is not bolted onto an existing business but becomes the foundation the business cannot run without. He said Bulgarian businesses have moved past survival mode and are now in a growth phase, which calls for access to capital and institutions that can keep pace with business. Milev said interest in Bulgaria's entrepreneurial scene from abroad is growing, pointing to Shelly and EnduroSat as examples.

EY put together the Bulgaria report in close partnership with the association. Findings were also presented to reporters by Nikolay Garnev, managing partner at EY Bulgaria and EY South-East Europe; Viktor Mitev, head of tax and partner at EY Bulgaria; and Martin Bochev, strategy and transactions leader at EY-Parthenon. The study covered more than 1,000 entrepreneurs across 12 countries, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, with 70 senior Bulgarian managers responding this spring and summer.

The study makes several recommendations for companies. They need to handle regulation better and make up for the shortage of workers with higher productivity. They also need wider access to funding, more lasting AI adoption, and better planning for succession and the future of their business.