Türkiye’s youth embrace generative AI as age gap widens

In Türkiye, 38.5% of people aged 16 to 24 use generative artificial intelligence tools, with the usage rate among young people more than twice the overall rate for those aged 16 to 74.

According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Access and Usage Database, the use of generative AI tools is rapidly spreading across OECD countries, with significant differences in usage rates between age groups, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

According to OECD indicators covering data from 2025 or the latest available figures, 17.2% of people aged 16 to 74 in Türkiye used generative AI tools within the previous three months.

Among young people in Türkiye, however, the rate was significantly higher. Some 38.5% of those aged 16 to 24 used generative AI tools. This means that generative AI usage among young people in Türkiye was approximately 2.2 times the 17.2% rate recorded for the 16–74 age group.

Generative AI use in older age groups in Türkiye remained particularly low. According to OECD data, only 1.8% of people aged 55 to 74 in the country used generative AI tools.

As a result, there was a 36.7 percentage-point gap between the 16–24 age group, with a usage rate of 38.5%, and the 55–74 age group, at 1.8%.

Usage among young people was more than 21 times higher than among those aged 55 to 74, highlighting a significant age-related divide in generative AI use in Türkiye. The trend in Türkiye is consistent with the broader OECD picture, where age is a major factor differentiating generative AI adoption.

students among the heaviest users of generative ai

According to data released by the OECD on January 28, 2026, more than one-third of individuals across OECD countries used generative AI tools in 2025. The largest difference in usage was seen between age groups, reaching 53.6 percentage points.

Students were among the groups using generative AI most heavily. Across the OECD, 75% of students aged 16 and over reported using generative AI tools.

The usage rate was 41.1% among employed people and 36.7% among unemployed people, while it stood at 12.5% among retirees and other people outside the labor force.

The spread of AI is not limited to individual use. Businesses across OECD countries have also rapidly increased their adoption of the technology.

ICT companies lead AI adoption at 57.3%

In OECD countries for which data was available, the share of businesses using AI rose from 8.7% in 2023 to 14.2% in 2024 and 20.2% last year. This means business AI adoption more than doubled over two years.

Information and communication technology (ICT) companies were the most intensive users of AI, at 57.3%. They were followed by professional and scientific services at 36.8%.

Notably, annual growth in AI adoption was also high in sectors where the technology had previously been used relatively little. Usage increased by 62.5% year-on-year in accommodation and food services and by 59.1% in construction.

The OECD has indicated that rapid developments in generative AI, falling costs and the growing number of workers with AI skills could further increase the technology’s impact on economies and the world of work.

“Our goal should be to turn young people into AI-literate creators”

Gökhan Varan, vice president of the Artificial Intelligence Policies Association (AIPA), told Anadolu Agency that the 38.5% usage rate among 16–24-year-olds represents significant potential for Türkiye, noting that young people are quickly integrating new technologies into their daily lives.

Varan said the main goal should be to move young people beyond being merely “users” of AI and turn them into a workforce capable of understanding, questioning and producing with the technology.

He said AI literacy would soon become a horizontal employment skill, similar to foreign-language proficiency or basic digital skills.

“Türkiye’s young and technology-oriented population, which is cited as one of its greatest strengths, is also facing a major risk: the widening gap between AI usage and the capacity to produce with AI,” Varan said.

“Competition will largely be between people who can work effectively with ai and those who cannot”

Varan said companies would not simply be looking for employees who can “write prompts.”

“Employees who can combine AI with their professional knowledge, verify its output, and understand data security and ethical risks will stand out,” he said.

He added that competition would largely be between “people who can work effectively with AI and those who cannot.”

“The 75% usage rate among students shows us that keeping AI away from education is not realistic. The issue is not banning it, but teaching people how to use it properly,” Varan said.

Varan noted that the OECD has also emphasized that improved homework performance through general-purpose AI does not necessarily mean that genuine learning has been reinforced.

“For this reason, Türkiye’s curriculum should address AI literacy, critical thinking, source and reference verification, ethics and data security together. The assessment system should also measure students’ thinking and production processes, rather than focusing only on the final result,” he said.

“Universities should expand practical ai skills across all disciplines”

Varan said the key policy challenge facing Türkiye is moving “from usage to production.”

He argued that universities should integrate practical AI skills across all disciplines.

“The private sector should give young people opportunities to work with real data and real-world problems, while the public sector should strengthen the computing infrastructure, data resources, entrepreneurship and R&D ecosystem,” he said.

Varan said the “recognize, utilize, produce and govern” approach included in Türkiye’s 2026–2030 Artificial Intelligence Action Plan was important.

“Türkiye’s young population is our strength, while the global opportunity lies in building the capacity to transform this human capital into domestic products, startups and exports,” he said.

Photo: Chat GPT