One in three Spanish firms used AI in early 2026, INE survey finds

Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) found that 33.6% of enterprises with at least 10 employees used artificial-intelligence technologies in the first quarter of 2026. The same survey put paid cloud-computing use at 39.4%. The figures describe whether firms reported using these tools; they do not measure how frequently they were used, how many workers used them or whether they raised productivity.

The survey records a broader spread of digital infrastructure among the larger businesses it covers. Internet access was reported by 98.3% of firms, and 82.9% of connected firms had a website. Social-media use reached 65.4% among enterprises with internet access. The share of employees with work-related internet access was 68.6%, while 15.4% of enterprises said they employed ICT specialists.

Adoption differed by sector. Services had the highest reported rates for paid cloud services, at 41.9%, and AI, at 38.2%. Industry reported AI use of 29.1% and paid cloud use of 37.5%; construction reported 22.6% AI use and 32.9% paid cloud use. These are sector proportions from the survey, not counts of tools deployed or measures of investment.

INE also reported that 37.7% of firms with at least 10 employees allowed telework in the first quarter. The share rose with company size, from 32.6% for firms with 10–49 workers to 77.3% for those with at least 250. On average, employees teleworked 2.4 days a week, and 19.6% of employees teleworked regularly. These indicators concern workplace arrangements, not necessarily the share of all employees working remotely.

The release combines two reference periods. Technology-use measures refer to the first quarter of 2026, but e-commerce sales refer to calendar 2025. In 2025, 29.0% of businesses made online sales and those sales generated €419.706 billion in reported turnover. The amount is business revenue from electronic sales, not a valuation of the wider digital economy or a 2026 result.

INE says the 2025 edition adopted the CNAE-2025 economic-activity classification and included additional activities in its population, so its annual results are not strictly comparable with earlier editions. The survey covers specified industry and service sections across Spain and reports firms by size and activity. Its percentages are survey estimates; they should be read with the coverage and reference-period distinctions in mind.

Regional differences were also reported: firms headquartered in Madrid, Catalonia and Navarre had the highest overall ICT-use intensity among the autonomous communities, while Castilla-La Mancha and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla recorded the lowest percentages. The release does not provide a causal explanation for those gaps, so the figures describe location patterns rather than the reasons behind them.