Türkiye’s large enterprises outpace smaller firms in AI adoption

The gap in artificial intelligence adoption between Türkiye's largest and smallest enterprises has roughly tripled to 24 points since 2021.

According to the data released by TÜİK, smaller firms posted the fastest relative growth in AI uptake.

TÜİK reported that the share of enterprises using at least one AI technology rose from 2.7% in 2021 to 14% in 2026 overall.

By size, adoption among enterprises with 10-49 employees rose from 2.3% to 12.8%, among those with 50-249 employees from 3.6% to 17%, and among those with 250 or more employees from 9.6% to 37.1%.

The gap between the largest and smallest size categories widened from 7.3 percentage points in 2021 to 24.3 percentage points in 2026 - roughly 3.3 times wider. It shows smaller enterprises grew fastest in relative terms: adoption among 10-49-employee firms increased approximately 5.57-fold over the period, compared with a 4.72-fold increase among mid-sized firms and a 3.86-fold increase among the largest firms, meaning large enterprises' head start has translated into a widening absolute gap even as smaller firms catch up proportionally faster.

TÜİK also reported that 8.3% of enterprises not using AI said they were considering adopting it, with this share rising by firm size - from 7.4% among 10-49-employee firms to 14.9% among those with 250 or more employees.

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