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The AI leap in Spain: 60.5% of companies already integrate it into their strategy, but only 17.3% achieve a high ROI

Original title, in Spanish: “El salto de la IA en España: el 60,5% de empresas ya la integra en su estrategia pero solo el 17,3% logra un...”

Publication
Notimérica (Spain)
Author
Unsigned
Published on
29 September 2026 · read in the page structured data

Summary

According to the second edition of the “Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust” published by SAS on the basis of an IDC study, 60.5% of Spanish companies already integrate generative AI into their strategy, the highest level of adoption in Europe. However, only 17.3% achieve a high return on investment and 37% improve their EBIT. The report points to a lack of technology infrastructure, a failure to redesign processes and fragmented data governance: 43.2% of companies manage data quality in isolation. 88% of proofs of concept fail in production. Spain's AI impact index has fallen from 61 to 53.1 points in one year. Jorge Zafra, marketing director of SAS Iberia, speaks of a “healthy pause”. 79% of companies plan to increase their AI budget.

Summary based on the full text of the article.

Read the article on Notimérica →

Figures cited

  • 61 points

    AI impact index in Spain (previous year)

    Spain

    « el índice del impacto de la IA en España ha descendido hasta los 53,1 puntos, frente a los 61 del año anterior »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 60.5 %

    share of Spanish companies integrating generative AI into their strategy

    Spain

    « un 60,5 por ciento de compañías que las integran en su estrategia »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 17.3 %

    share of Spanish companies achieving a high ROI from AI

    Spain

    « solo el 17,3 por ciento logra un retorno de inversión (ROI) alto »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 80 %

    share of employees reporting time savings thanks to AI

    Spain

    « el 80 por ciento de los empleados aseguran obtener importantes ahorros de tiempo en sus rutinas diarias gracias a la IA »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 37 %

    share of Spanish companies improving their operating profit (EBIT) thanks to AI

    Spain

    « Solo el 37 por ciento logra mejorar su beneficio operativo o EBIT. »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 88 %

    failure rate of AI proofs of concept when moving to production

    Spain

    « el 88 por ciento de las pruebas de concepto de IA fracasa en su paso a producción »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 53.1 points

    AI impact index in Spain (current year)

    Spain

    « el índice del impacto de la IA en España ha descendido hasta los 53,1 puntos, frente a los 61 del año anterior »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 35.1 %

    share of cases where professionals ignore AI recommendations

    Spain

    « los profesionales deciden ignorar las recomendaciones de la IA en un 35,1 por ciento de los casos »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 43.2 %

    share of Spanish companies managing data quality in isolation

    Spain

    « un 43,2 por ciento de las empresas españolas gestiona la calidad de sus datos de forma aislada »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 18.5 %

    share of Spanish companies requiring data quality as a mandatory criterion

    Spain

    « apenas un 18,5 por ciento lo exige como requisito obligatorio en todos sus proyectos »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 15 x

    increased likelihood of achieving a strong ROI for companies practising trustworthy AI and governance

    global

    « las empresas que son capaces de aplicar prácticas de IA confiable y gobernanza tienen quince veces más probabilidades de obtener un ROI sólido »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

  • 79 %

    share of Spanish companies planning to increase their AI budget next year

    Spain

    « el 79 por ciento de las compañías prevé incrementar su presupuesto en inteligencia artificial durante el próximo año »

    Source: Data and AI Impact Report - The New Economics of Trust (SAS/IDC)

Classification

Country
Spain
Company size
All sizes
Industries
All industries, or industry not specified
Companies
SAS (study author), IDC (study author)
Keywords
return on investment, data governance, generative AI, corporate strategy, Spain, proofs of concept

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 Notimérica. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.