Spanish firms report higher AI use than U.S. peers in new study

A study from Barcelona-based latevaIA says Spanish companies are adopting artificial intelligence at higher rates than similarly sized U.S. firms, based on official first-quarter 2026 data. The gap is widest among larger companies and may reflect differences in how the two countries measure AI use.

Why it matters: - Company size is the strongest predictor of AI use in both Spain and the U.S. - The findings suggest Spanish firms are moving faster on AI adoption than comparable U.S. firms, especially at the mid-sized and large end of the market. - For small businesses, the study suggests the question is shifting from whether to adopt AI to which use case to start with.

What happened: - latevaIA, the AI agency of Barcelona-based La Teva Web, published a study comparing official AI adoption data from Spain’s INE and the U.S. Census Bureau. - The comparison covers the first quarter of 2026 and breaks firms into employment bands rather than comparing national totals. - Spanish adoption rates are higher in every size band examined. - The full study, including data tables, charts and methodology, is available at latevaIA Research Study 01 · October 2026.

The details: - 33.6% of Spanish enterprises with 10 or more employees used AI in the first quarter of 2026, according to INE data published Oct. 22, 2026. - Spanish firms with 10 to 49 employees reported AI use at 29.1%, compared with about 18% among U.S. firms in the same broad comparison. - Spanish mid-sized firms with 50 to 249 employees reported 48.9% AI use, versus 21.3% to 25.3% in the U.S. depending on the Census Bureau reading used. - Spanish large firms with 250 or more employees reported 74.4% AI use, compared with 30.6% in the Census Bureau’s AI supplement for November 2025 to February 2026 and 37% in the later reading for the period ending May 3, 2026. - Spanish firms with fewer than 10 employees reported 21.4% AI use, compared with 17.0% to 17.6% in the U.S.; the study classifies this result as directional. - U.S. AI adoption is rising, with the Census Bureau’s national series increasing from 17.3% in mid-November 2025 to 22.4% by Aug. 9, 2026. - The study uses probability-sample surveys from official statistical agencies. - The Spanish survey asks about AI use during the quarter, while the U.S. survey asks about the previous two weeks. - The study says the U.S. timing difference likely makes its rates conservative and the cross-country gaps should be read as upper bounds. - A sensitivity test in the study estimates the U.S. rate would need to rise about 1.6 times to close the gap for firms with 10 to 49 employees, 2.1 times for firms with 50 to 249 employees and 2.4 times for firms with 250 or more employees. - For firms with fewer than 10 employees, the study says an increase of 1.2 times would be enough to close the gap.

Between the lines: - The largest gap appears among bigger employers, where Spanish adoption is more than double the U.S. rate in the study’s comparison. - The methodology limits make the comparison useful for direction, but not a perfect apples-to-apples measure. - The study’s note that U.S. rates are likely conservative matters because it narrows, but does not erase, the observed difference. - Reasons for not adopting AI also differ across the two countries, which suggests different barriers rather than a single shared explanation. - Among Spanish enterprises that considered AI but did not use it, 79.6% cited a lack of relevant in-house skills. - Among the smallest U.S. firms that do not use AI, 63.3% said AI is not applicable to their business. - The study does not draw a cross-country conclusion from those non-adoption answers because the surveys use different response options.

What’s next: - latevaIA says the full research package includes the underlying data, charts and methodology for deeper comparison. - The Census Bureau’s trend line suggests U.S. adoption could keep climbing, which may narrow the gap in later readings. - Future releases from official statistical agencies will be the key test of whether Spain’s lead holds across new quarters.

The bottom line: - Spain’s companies, especially larger ones, are using AI more often than similarly sized U.S. firms in this study — but the comparison is strongest as a directional signal, not a final verdict.