EU securities authority launches AI survey

The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a survey on the take-up of AI in the securities sector. ESMA will use the responses to report on how EU firms use AI. The survey is the latest example of regulators seeking to better understand the risks and opportunities of AI in financial services.

The survey asks questions about firms’:

• AI strategy, including whether they anticipate their investments in AI to increase over the next couple of years and their estimated cost savings from the use of AI;
• AI policies, including whether they have a dedicated AI policy and whether they have blocked employees from accessing public GenAI tools like ChatGPT;
• AI governance, including AI-specific training and security measures; and
• Third party providers, including whether they are based outside the EU.

The survey also invites firms to share information about their three main AI use cases. For example, ESMA asks about the AI systems’ materiality, explainability and risk level under EU AI Act, as well as the extent to which the AI can run autonomously. Firms should choose the use cases that have the biggest impact on clients or make the biggest cost savings.

ESMA developed the survey for national regulators to share with the firms that they oversee. It expects to hear back from a range of market participants, including banks and investment firms, benchmark administrators, fund managers, central counterparties and cryptoasset service providers.

ESMA’s survey follows a wider consultation on AI in financial services which the European Commission ran last year (see: EU institutions explore AI in financial services). UK regulators also regularly ask the financial services industry about AI developments (see, for example: AI in financial services survey results shine light on third party risks and AI governance).

The survey opened on 2 June and the deadline for responding is 29 August 2025.