Increase in artificial intelligence usage in Turkey

The “Artificial Intelligence Statistics” for 2026 from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) revealed that the use of artificial intelligence is spreading rapidly among both individuals and businesses. According to the data, the proportion of individuals using generative artificial intelligence rose from 19.2 percent last year to 37.6 percent this year.

The increase was observed not only in individual use but also in enterprises. The proportion of enterprises utilizing any artificial intelligence technology rose from 7.5 percent to 14 percent during the same period.

When viewed by age group, the segment that uses artificial intelligence the most was the 16-24 age range. In this group, the usage rate reached 64.9 percent, while it was recorded at 55.7 percent in the 25-34 age group and 38.1 percent in the 35-44 age group. The usage rate of generative artificial intelligence was 38.1 percent for women and 37.2 percent for men.

It was observed that the usage rate increases as the level of education rises. While the use of generative artificial intelligence reached its highest level among higher education graduates at 62.7 percent, it was measured at 45.4 percent for high school or vocational high school graduates, and 35.5 percent for primary or secondary school graduates. The rate remained at 8.5 percent for primary school graduates.

MOST COMMON USE IN COMPANIES IS IN MARKETING AND SALES

It was observed that the use of artificial intelligence in businesses increases as the scale grows. The usage rate was determined to be 12.8 percent in enterprises with 10-49 employees, 17 percent in those with 50-249 employees, and 37.1 percent in companies with 250 or more employees.

In the sectoral distribution, telecommunications, programming, and information activities ranked first with 63.7 percent. This field was followed by publishing, radio-TV, and content activities at 57.1 percent, and the repair of computers and communication equipment at 32.4 percent.

It was reported that enterprises using artificial intelligence benefit from this technology most in marketing and sales activities. While the rate in this category was 51 percent, R&D or innovation activities accounted for 46.3 percent, and production or service processes accounted for 43.4 percent.

Open-source software stood out in the acquisition of the technologies used, at 67.8 percent. While the proportion of enterprises using closed-source software was 49.1 percent, the proportion of those having artificial intelligence systems developed by external providers was 46.5 percent, and the proportion of those developing them with their own employees was recorded at 32.1 percent.

Of the enterprises not using artificial intelligence, 8.3 percent stated that they are considering benefiting from this technology in the future. However, the biggest obstacle to the transition was the lack of expertise, at 72.3 percent. Uncertainties regarding legal liability at 66.4 percent, and data protection and privacy concerns at 65.4 percent were among the other prominent issues.

According to TUIK data, 16.6 percent of enterprises using artificial intelligence reported that they process data related to individuals—such as gender, age, occupation, education, address, purchase records, or facial images—through these technologies.