According to OECD’s 2025 or most recent available data, 17.2% of people aged 16-74 in Türkiye used generative AI tools within the last 3 months. The rate rose to 38.5% among those aged 16-24, approximately 2.2 times the overall level. While usage stood at 1.8% among those aged 55-74, the gap between younger and older people reached 36.7 percentage points, and the rate among younger people exceeded that of older people by 21 times.
According to data released by the OECD on January 28, 2026, more than one-third of individuals across the OECD used these tools in 2025. While the gap between age groups reached 53.6 percentage points, usage stood at 75% among students, 41.1% among those in employment, 36.7% among the unemployed, and 12.5% among retirees and other groups outside the labor force.
AI use among businesses rose from 8.7% in 2023 to 14.2% in 2024 and 20.2% in 2025. ICT companies ranked first at 57.3%, followed by professional and scientific services at 36.8%.
Why it matters
The data show that generative AI has not reached all segments of society in Türkiye to the same extent and that the overall usage rate conceals the differences between age groups. The divide between younger people and older adults presents a picture that requires digital skills and access conditions, as well as age, to be taken into account in the use of these tools; however, the available data do not explain the reasons for the gap. The fact that individual usage in Türkiye remains below the level across the OECD also raises the issue of differences in adoption between countries. While the increase among businesses shows that adoption is accelerating, the concentration of usage particularly in ICT and professional and scientific services leaves the mismatch between sectors unresolved. Therefore, the fundamental question is not in which areas and among which groups usage will become widespread on a lasting basis, but how this disparity will be measured and reduced.
Background
Türkiye is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 40 articles mentioning this name in the past 90 days; the latest is dated September 9, 2026.