Data study ·
AI adoption in Latin America leaves small businesses behind
Original title, in Spanish: “La adopción de inteligencia artificial en América Latina deja atrás a las pequeñas empresas”
- Publication
- El Economista (México) (Mexico)
- Author
- Rodrigo Riquelme
- Published on
- 20 October 2026 · read in the page structured data
Summary
The Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) 2026, produced by ECLAC (Cepal) and Chile's Cenia, shows that AI adoption by companies in Latin America and the Caribbean varies widely with company size: 27.6% of large companies use it, against 6.8% of small ones. The national average is 9.1%, with Uruguay in the lead (16.5%), followed by Chile (13.5%), Brazil (13%) and Colombia (12.7%). The gap appears in every country and across industries: 36.6% in information and communications, against 10.3% in manufacturing and 4.5% in construction. Chile, Brazil and Uruguay lead the overall capabilities ranking, while Mexico ranks eighth. The experts cited, including Pablo Barceló (Cenia) and Raúl Katz (Columbia Institute for Tele-Information), point to a lack of funding, training and regional technology providers as obstacles to adoption by small businesses.
Summary based on the full text of the article.
Read the article on El Economista (México) →Figures cited
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27.6 %
AI adoption rate among large companies in Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean, 2026, large companies
« El Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) 2026 estima una adopción de 27.6% entre las compañías grandes, frente a 6.8% entre las pequeñas »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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6.8 %
AI adoption rate among small companies in Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean, 2026, small companies
« El Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) 2026 estima una adopción de 27.6% entre las compañías grandes, frente a 6.8% entre las pequeñas »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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9.1 %
Average AI adoption rate (average of national estimates)
Latin America and the Caribbean, 2026
« El promedio de las estimaciones nacionales alcanza 9.1%, con Uruguay a la cabeza, con 16.5%, seguido por Chile, con 13.5 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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16.5 %
AI adoption rate in Uruguay
Uruguay, 2026
« El promedio de las estimaciones nacionales alcanza 9.1%, con Uruguay a la cabeza, con 16.5%, seguido por Chile, con 13.5 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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13.5 %
AI adoption rate in Chile
Chile, 2026
« El promedio de las estimaciones nacionales alcanza 9.1%, con Uruguay a la cabeza, con 16.5%, seguido por Chile, con 13.5 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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13 %
AI adoption rate in Brazil
Brazil, 2026
« Brasil registra 13% y Colombia, 12.7 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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12.7 %
AI adoption rate in Colombia
Colombia, 2026
« Brasil registra 13% y Colombia, 12.7 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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49.8 %
AI adoption rate among large companies in Uruguay
Uruguay, 2026, large companies
« La proporción alcanza 49.8% entre las grandes y 12.2% entre las pequeñas. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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12.2 %
AI adoption rate among small companies in Uruguay
Uruguay, 2026, small companies
« La proporción alcanza 49.8% entre las grandes y 12.2% entre las pequeñas. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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42.1 %
AI adoption rate among large companies in Chile
Chile, 2026, large companies
« En Chile, los registros correspondientes son 42.1 y 10.3%, mientras Brasil presenta tasas de 41.4 y 10.1 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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10.3 %
AI adoption rate among small companies in Chile
Chile, 2026, small companies
« En Chile, los registros correspondientes son 42.1 y 10.3%, mientras Brasil presenta tasas de 41.4 y 10.1 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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41.4 %
AI adoption rate among large companies in Brazil
Brazil, 2026, large companies
« En Chile, los registros correspondientes son 42.1 y 10.3%, mientras Brasil presenta tasas de 41.4 y 10.1 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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10.1 %
AI adoption rate among small companies in Brazil
Brazil, 2026, small companies
« En Chile, los registros correspondientes son 42.1 y 10.3%, mientras Brasil presenta tasas de 41.4 y 10.1 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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36.6 %
AI adoption rate in the information and communications industry
Latin America and the Caribbean, 2026, information and communications industry
« En la región, 36.6% de las empresas de información y comunicaciones utiliza IA, frente a 10.3% de las manufactureras. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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10.3 %
AI adoption rate in the manufacturing industry
Latin America and the Caribbean, 2026, manufacturing industry
« En la región, 36.6% de las empresas de información y comunicaciones utiliza IA, frente a 10.3% de las manufactureras. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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4.5 %
AI adoption rate in the construction industry
Latin America and the Caribbean, 2026, construction industry
« En construcción, la proporción estimada disminuye a 4.5 por ciento. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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71.4 points out of 100
Chile's overall ILIA score
Chile, 2026
« Chile obtiene el mayor puntaje general, con 71.4 sobre 100. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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68.4 points out of 100
Brazil's overall ILIA score
Brazil, 2026
« Brasil alcanza 68.4 y Uruguay, 67. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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52 points out of 100
Mexico's overall ILIA score
Mexico, 2026
« México ocupa el octavo lugar, con 52 puntos. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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92 %
Share of regional AI computing power concentrated in Brazil
Brazil, 2026, computing infrastructure
« Brasil concentra la capacidad de procesamiento. En los conjuntos de equipos especializados identificados por el informe, reúne 92% del cómputo regional. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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1,689 companies
Number of active AI companies headquartered in Brazil
Brazil, 2026
« El ILIA identifica 1,689 empresas activas de inteligencia artificial con sede en Brasil y 466 en México. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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466 companies
Number of active AI companies headquartered in Mexico
Mexico, 2026
« El ILIA identifica 1,689 empresas activas de inteligencia artificial con sede en Brasil y 466 en México. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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7,775 USD million
Cumulative investment in private AI companies in Brazil over ten years
Brazil, last ten years covered by the report
« el valor estimado de las transacciones de inversión en empresas privadas de IA alcanza 7,775 millones de dólares en Brasil y 1,668 millones en Chile. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
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1,223 USD million
Cumulative investment in private AI companies in Mexico over ten years
Mexico, last ten years covered by the report
« Argentina registra 1,312 millones, por encima de los 1,223 millones de dólares de México. »
Source: ILIA 2026 (Cepal/Cenia)
Classification
- Country
- Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Trinidad & Tobago
- Company size
- SMEs, Large companies
- Industries
- Software vendors, IT services companies, telecoms · Industry and manufacturing · Construction, civil engineering, real estate · All industries, or industry not specified
- Companies
- Cepal (study author), Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (cited), CENIA (study author)
- Keywords
- AI adoption, small businesses, Latin America, digital divide, funding, talent training
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 El Economista (México) and its author. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.