The share of individuals in Türkiye who said they use generative AI rose from 19.2% last year to 37.6% this year. The share of businesses reporting that they use any AI technologies also increased from 7.5% to 14%.
The Turkish Statistical Institute's Artificial Intelligence Statistics bulletin revealed usage trends among individuals and businesses. The results for individuals covered those aged 16-74, while the results for businesses covered enterprises with 10 or more employees.
Young people lead individual use
The share of people reporting that they use generative AI was calculated at 37.2% among men and 38.1% among women. By age group, the highest usage was recorded among those aged 16-24, at 64.9%.
This group was followed by those aged 25-34 at 55.7% and those aged 35-44 at 38.1%. AI usage was also found to increase as educational attainment rose.
The usage rate was 62.7% among higher education graduates, compared with 45.4% among high school or vocational high school graduates, 35.5% among primary or lower-secondary school graduates, and 8.5% among primary school graduates.
AI is used mainly for personal purposes
Some 86.4% of individuals using AI said they use the technology for personal purposes. The rate of use for professional purposes was 37.3%, while use for formal education stood at 32.6%.
Among men, personal use was measured at 86%, professional use at 43.2% and use for formal education at 29.1%. Among women, the corresponding rates were 86.8%, 31.2% and 36.1%.
Business use rises to 14%
The share of businesses reporting that they used any AI technologies stood at 2.7% in 2021 and reached 14% this year. By number of employees, the usage rate was calculated at 12.8% among businesses with 10-49 employees, 17% among those with 50-249 employees, and 37.1% among those with 250 or more employees.
In 2021, these rates for the same employee groups were 2.3%, 3.6% and 9.6%, respectively. Among economic activity groups, the highest usage was recorded at 63.7% among businesses operating in telecommunications, programming and information technology.
AI usage stood at 57.1% in publishing, radio and television, and content activities, and at 32.4% in the repair of computers and communication equipment.
Marketing and sales are the priority for businesses
Marketing or sales ranked first among the purposes for which AI-using businesses employed the technology, at 51%. This was followed by research and development or innovation activities at 46.3%, and production or service processes at 43.4%.
Open-source software was the leading method businesses used to acquire AI software and systems, at 67.8%. The share of businesses using closed-source software, either free or paid, was 49.1%; the share commissioning external providers to develop their systems was 46.5%; and the share developing them with their own employees was 32.1%.
Personal data processing and barriers to use
Some 16.6% of AI-using businesses said they processed personal data about individuals through these technologies, such as gender, age, occupation, educational status, address information, purchase records or facial images. This rate was measured at 16.9% among businesses with 10-49 employees, 15.3% among those with 50-249 employees, and 17% among those with 250 or more employees.
The share of businesses that said they did not use any AI technology but were considering doing so was 8.3%. This rate was recorded at 7.4% among businesses with 10-49 employees, 12.2% among those with 50-249 employees, and 14.9% among those with 250 or more employees.
The most important reason cited by businesses considering AI but not yet using it was a lack of relevant expertise, at 72.3%. This was followed by legal uncertainty over who would be responsible in the event of potential harm, at 66.4%, and concerns about breaches of data protection and privacy, at 65.4%.
