--- title: "AI adoption among Spanish SMEs reaches 4.1% — Marsanne Studio AI watch" description: "The IndesIA Barometer 2026 finds that 4.1% of Spanish industrial SMEs use AI, with adoption rising with company size." url: "https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch/ai-adoption-among-spanish-smes-reaches-4-806ea3/" lang: "en" --- [Marsanne Studio](https://marsanne.studio/en/) [← Back to home](https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch) [← The AI watch](https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch) Data study · 6 October 2026 # AI adoption among Spanish SMEs reaches 4.1% Original title, in Spanish: “La adopción de IA en las pymes españolas alcanza el 4,1%” **Publication** IT User (Spain) **Author** Unsigned **Published on** 6 October 2026 · read in the page metadata · updated on 5 October 2026 ## Summary The IndesIA Barometer 2026, based on a sample of 131,554 Spanish industrial SMEs, finds that 4.1% of them use AI, up from 2.9% in 2025 and 2.1% in 2024. Adoption increases with company size: 6.5% for medium-sized companies (50-250 employees), 5.1% for small ones (10-50) and 3.6% for micro-businesses. Madrid (6.3%), Catalonia (4.9%) and the Basque Country (4.2%) lead. Decision-flow automation (31.4%) and generative AI (28.5%) are more widely used than machine learning (26.5%). Public investment reached €4.609 billion in 2025. Spain has 151,000 data and AI professionals, but 64.65% of job openings remain unfilled. SMEs that use AI are growing faster (7.25% versus 4.34%), yet 95.9% of SMEs still have no identified use of AI. Summary based on the full text of the article. [Read the article on IT User →](https://www.ituser.es/tecnologias/2026/10/la-adopcion-de-ia-en-las-pymes-espanolas-alcanza-el-41) ## Figures cited - 4.1 % share of Spanish industrial SMEs using AI in 2026 Spanish industrial SMEs, sample of 131,554 companies, 2026 > « el 4,1% de las pymes ya utiliza estas tecnologías » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 2.1 % share of SMEs using AI in 2024 Spanish industrial SMEs, 2024 > « pasando del 2,1% en 2024 al 2,9% en 2025 » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 2.9 % share of SMEs using AI in 2025 Spanish industrial SMEs, 2025 > « pasando del 2,1% en 2024 al 2,9% en 2025 » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 6.5 % AI adoption in medium-sized companies (50-250 employees) Spanish industrial SMEs with 50 to 250 employees > « En las medianas de entre 50 y 250 empleados, alcanza el 6,5% » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 5.1 % AI adoption in small companies (10-50 employees) Spanish industrial SMEs with 10 to 50 employees > « frente al 5,1% en las pequeñas de entre 10 y 50 empleados » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 3.6 % AI adoption in micro-businesses (fewer than 10 employees) Spanish industrial micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees > « y el 3,6% en las microempresas, con menos de 10 trabajadores » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 6.3 % AI adoption in the Community of Madrid industrial SMEs, Community of Madrid > « la Comunidad de Madrid lidera la adopción de IA entre las pymes, con un 6,3% » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 4.9 % AI adoption in Catalonia industrial SMEs, Catalonia > « seguida de Cataluña (4,9%) » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 4.2 % AI adoption in the Basque Country industrial SMEs, Basque Country > « y el País Vasco (4,2%) » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 28.5 % share of SMEs using generative AI, among those that use AI Spanish industrial SMEs that use AI > « la IA generativa (28,5%) y la automatización de flujos de decisión (31,4%) están ganando protagonismo frente a soluciones como el machine learning (26,5%) » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 31.4 % share of SMEs using decision-flow automation, among those that use AI Spanish industrial SMEs that use AI > « la automatización de flujos de decisión (31,4%) » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 26.5 % share of SMEs using machine learning, among those that use AI Spanish industrial SMEs that use AI > « el machine learning (26,5%) » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 4,609 EUR million public investment in AI in Spain in 2025 Spain, 2025 > « en 2025, la inversión alcanzó los 4.609 millones de euros, un 0,5 % más que el año anterior » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 151,000 people number of data and AI professionals in Spain Spain > « España cuenta con 151.000 profesionales de datos e IA, pero la demanda supera ampliamente la oferta » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 7.7 % share of AI talent working in SMEs with fewer than 49 employees Spain, AI talent > « solo el 7,7% del talento de IA trabaja en pymes de menos de 49 empleados » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 64.65 % share of unfilled AI job openings Spain > « el 64,65% de las ofertas de IA no llega a cubrirse » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 2.9 percentage points sales growth gap between SMEs using AI and other SMEs Spanish industrial SMEs > « las pymes que utilizan IA registran un crecimiento de ventas 2,9 puntos porcentuales superior al de aquellas que no la emplean » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 7.25 % sales growth of SMEs using AI Spanish industrial SMEs that use AI > « las pymes con IA crecen un 7,25%, frente al 4,34% de las que no la usan » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 4.34 % sales growth of SMEs not using AI Spanish industrial SMEs that do not use AI > « frente al 4,34% de las que no la usan » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 - 95.9 % share of Spanish SMEs with no identified use of AI Spanish industrial SMEs, 2026 > « el 95,9% de las pymes españolas sigue sin uso identificado de IA » Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026 ## Classification **Country** Spain **Company size** Micro-businesses, SMEs **Industries** Industry and manufacturing **Companies** IndesIA (study author) **Keywords** industrial SMEs, barometer, AI adoption, generative AI, AI talent, public investment Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to IT User. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.