The National Observatory of Technology and Society (ONTSI), an advisory body of the entity Red.es, attached to the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function through the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, has presented the report Indicators of the use of artificial intelligence in Spain 2024 (Edition 2025 – Data 2024). This report updates the figures for the use of AI technologies in Spanish companies. In this new edition, it expands its scope by including an analysis of the use of AI by citizens.

According to the report, in the workplace, 73% of the population considers that the most recent digital technologies, including AI, will have a positive impact and more than half of the population (56%) has a positive opinion about the use of robots and AI.

In addition, 78% of respondents believe that their company should provide them with the tools and training needed to work effectively with the latest digital technologies, including AI. As for the perception of citizens, four out of ten people are "quite" agreed that using AI will make life easier.

Growing use in the business environment

The report reveals that almost half (44%) of companies with more than 249 employees in Spain used AI technologies in 2024, which is 11 percentage points more than three years earlier.

For its part, 11.4% of Spanish companies with 10 or more employees used AI technologies last year, which represents an increase of 1.8 percentage points compared to the previous year and more than 3 points compared to 2021 data. As far as its use by EU Member States is concerned, Spain is only two points from the European average (13.5%) in the business sphere and just over one point from the average of the OECD countries (12.7%).

The AI technologies most used by companies with 10 or more people include those that perform written language analysis (44.7%) and those that automate workflows or help with decision-making (39%). Those that generate written or spoken language are the ones that have grown the most in the last year (11.9 percentage points more), followed by those that perform written language analysis (11.7 percentage points more). In addition, the report highlights that 28.7% of companies use AI for marketing or sales, as well as in business administration or management processes, becoming the most common areas of application.

By sector, companies in the field of information and communications registered greater use of AI (46.6%), followed by the ICT sector, with 45% and those in scientific and technical activities, with 26.1%. In addition, nearly half of businesses access AI technologies by purchasing ready-to-use business packages (45.8%).

Analysis of the use of AI among citizens

Regarding the use of AI by citizens, the report reveals that 42.1% of the adult population of Spain has ever used AI in 2023 (latest update available), mainly for the writing of texts and translations (24.1% and 21%, respectively).

In addition, more than half of the Spanish population believe that AI will have a positive impact on household tasks (54.5%), education and continuous learning (53.2%) and almost to the same extent, transport (47.9%) and entertainment and art (44.8%).

As for generative AI, more than half of the adult population in Spain used it in 2024, mainly for personal use and to receive advice.