Data study ·
Artificial intelligence awakens in Latin America: 71% of companies have already adopted it
Original title, in Spanish: “La inteligencia artificial despierta en América Latina: el 71% de empresas ya la adoptan”
- Publication
- El Español (Spain)
- Author
- Rosa Jiménez Cano
- Published on
- 2 September 2026 · read in the page structured data
Summary
According to the fourth edition of the State of AI in Latin America report, published by the investment fund Hi Ventures, 71% of Latin American corporations have already adopted AI in at least one function, 23% use it only for individual productivity and 5% have not yet explored it. Productivity, cited by 46% of executives, is the main benefit sought, particularly in repetitive administrative tasks. Mercado Libre has deployed AI tools to tens of thousands of employees in administrative functions. Startups are further ahead in the use of autonomous agents (53% versus 30% for large companies). Chile, Argentina and Brazil lead the region's AI readiness index, while the shortage of technical talent and user trust remain the main obstacles. 78% of corporations already have a formal governance framework or are developing one.
Summary based on the full text of the article.
Read the article on El Español →Figures cited
-
71 %
share of Latin American companies that have adopted AI in at least one function
corporations surveyed in Latin America, 4th edition of the State of AI in Latin America report
« el 71% de las corporaciones consultadas ya ha adoptado inteligencia artificial en algún equipo o función »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
-
23 %
share of companies using AI only for individual productivity
corporations surveyed in Latin America
« Otro 23% la utiliza únicamente para la productividad individual »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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5 %
share of companies that have not yet explored AI
corporations surveyed in Latin America
« solo el 5% aún no la ha explorado »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
-
53 %
share of startups using AI agents in production
startups surveyed in Latin America
« El 53% de las nuevas compañías encuestadas ya utiliza agentes en producción, frente al 30% de las corporaciones »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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30 %
share of large companies using AI agents in production
corporations surveyed in Latin America
« El 53% de las nuevas compañías encuestadas ya utiliza agentes en producción, frente al 30% de las corporaciones »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
-
40 %
share of corporations maintaining direct human oversight of AI agents
corporations surveyed in Latin America
« el 40% mantiene un modelo de supervisión humana directa »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
-
5 %
share of corporations with fully autonomous operation of AI agents
corporations surveyed in Latin America
« apenas el 5% ha alcanzado un funcionamiento plenamente autónomo »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
-
46 %
share of executives identifying efficiency as the main appeal of AI
business executives in Latin America
« El 46% de los líderes empresariales identifica la mejora de la eficiencia como el principal atractivo de la inteligencia artificial »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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99 %
share of startups using AI at least internally
startups surveyed in Latin America
« El 99% de las startups consultadas utiliza inteligencia artificial, al menos internamente, y el 78% la ha incorporado a su producto principal »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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78 %
share of startups that have integrated AI into their main product
startups surveyed in Latin America
« El 99% de las startups consultadas utiliza inteligencia artificial, al menos internamente, y el 78% la ha incorporado a su producto principal »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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62 %
share of startups with teams of ten people or fewer
startups surveyed in Latin America
« el 62% tiene equipos de diez personas o menos »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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72.5 points
Chile's AI readiness index
AI readiness index, Hi Ventures
« Chile encabeza la clasificación con 72,5 puntos »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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71 points
Argentina's AI readiness index
AI readiness index, Hi Ventures
« seguido de Argentina, con 71 »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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70.2 points
Brazil's AI readiness index
AI readiness index, Hi Ventures
« Brasil alcanza 70,2 después de registrar el mayor avance interanual »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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67.5 points
Mexico's AI readiness index
AI readiness index, Hi Ventures
« mientras México llega a 67,5 »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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53.1 points
Colombia's AI readiness index
AI readiness index, Hi Ventures
« Colombia se queda en 53,1 »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
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78 %
share of corporations with a formal AI governance framework or one under development
corporations surveyed in Latin America
« El 78% de las corporaciones afirma contar con un marco formal para la IA o estar desarrollándolo »
Source: State of AI in Latin America (Hi Ventures)
Classification
- Country
- Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia
- Company size
- Micro-businesses, Large companies, All sizes
- Industries
- All industries, or industry not specified
- Companies
- Oracle (cited), Hi Ventures (study author), Mercado Libre (deploys AI), Endeavor (cited)
- Keywords
- ai adoption, latin america, ai agents, governance, productivity, startups
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 Español and its author. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.