AI in OECD businesses: adoption is growing, but the gap between large and small firms remains

On 5 November 2026 the OECD released the second edition of its "Digital Economy and Society Outlook 2026", confirming that in 2025, across OECD countries, AI was used by 20% of firms with at least ten employees, compared with 52% of large companies (250 or more employees). As OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann put it, "AI adoption among firms continues to expand. But to make the most of AI's potential for productivity and competitiveness, we need to make sure adoption spreads to firms of every size".

Large firms are more than twice as likely to use AI as the average business. OECD projections suggest that by the end of the decade, AI adoption among large firms could be almost 80% higher than the average across all firms: that's a relative gap, not an adoption rate. For small businesses, the OECD expects the lag in cloud use to narrow by 2030, while the AI adoption gap will persist without targeted action.

Among individuals, generative AI use reached 37% in 2025, with a sharp generational divide: 68% of young people aged 16 to 24 use it, against 14% of older adults. Internet use among 55-to-74-year-olds rose from 58% in 2015 to 87% in 2025, but the AI gap is still wide. Among older people who don't use AI, 43% say they don't need it, 12% lack the skills and 9% don't know the tool.

Digital policy is getting more attention across OECD countries: in 2025, 60% of countries gave primary responsibility for digital strategy to a dedicated ministry, up from 24% in 2016. Venture capital flowing to AI companies specialising in IT infrastructure and hosting more than doubled, from $54.5 billion in 2024 to $123.9 billion in 2025. As Cormann notes, "Our Outlook points to the levers to get there - wider access to cloud services, targeted support for AI and big data analytics, and stronger interoperability and open standards".

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