In Türkiye, 38.5% of people aged 16-24 used generative AI tools in the past three months. While the overall rate among those aged 16-74 was 17.2%, the rate among young people was approximately 2.2 times higher.
A marked difference between age groups
Generative AI use remained at 1.8% among people aged 55-74. This created a gap of 36.7 percentage points between the 16-24 and older age groups, with the rate among young people exceeding that of the older group by more than 21 times.
The picture in Türkiye was consistent with the broader OECD trend, which shows that age is an important factor differentiating generative AI use.
Use among students reaches 75%
According to OECD data for 2025, more than one-third of individuals across the organization used generative AI tools. The largest differences in usage rates were seen between age groups, with the gap reaching 53.6 percentage points.
Seventy-five percent of students aged 16 and over said they used generative AI. The rate was 41.1% among employed people, 36.7% among the unemployed, and 12.5% among retirees and other groups outside the labor force.
AI use by businesses increased
In OECD countries with available data, the share of businesses using AI rose from 8.7% in 2023 to 14.2% in 2024 and 20.2% in 2025. Business use of AI therefore more than doubled over two years.
Information and communication technology companies were the businesses using AI most intensively, at 57.3%. They were followed by professional and scientific services, at 36.8%.
Annual growth in AI use was also high in sectors where the technology had previously been used relatively little. Usage rose by 62.5% in accommodation and food services and by 59.1% in construction.
Expert highlights the importance of AI literacy
Gökhan Varan, vice president of the Association for Artificial Intelligence Policies, said the 38.5% usage rate among people aged 16-24 in Türkiye pointed to significant potential. Varan said the goal should be to transform young people from mere users of AI into a workforce that understands, questions and produces with the technology.
Varan said AI literacy would soon become a general employment competency, like foreign-language proficiency or basic digital skills. He noted that a widening gap between AI use and production capacity could pose a risk.
Varan said companies would not seek only employees who could write prompts. Instead, employees who combine professional expertise with AI, can verify the results produced and understand data security and ethical risks would stand out, he said.
Varan said the 75% usage rate among students showed that keeping AI away from education was unrealistic, adding that the issue was not banning it but teaching its proper use. He said AI literacy, critical thinking, source and reference verification, ethics and data security should be addressed together in the curriculum.
Emphasis on moving from use to production
Varan said universities should extend practical AI competencies across all disciplines. He said the private sector should give young people opportunities to work with real data and problems, while the public sector should strengthen the ecosystem for computing infrastructure, data, entrepreneurship and research and development.
The OECD points out that rapid advances in generative AI, falling costs and the growing number of workers with AI skills could increase the technology's impact on the economy and working life. Varan also said he considered the “recognize, leverage, produce and govern” approach in Türkiye's 2026-2030 Artificial Intelligence Action Plan important.
