Kenya leads world in AI adoption as businesses deepen use of technology

• Share on Facebook
• Tweet it
• Pin it
• Email

Kenya has emerged as the world’s leading market for artificial intelligence adoption, with 97.5 percent of internet users aged 16 and above saying they had used at least one AI tool in the previous month.

The finding, contained in the Digital 2026 Mid-Year Global Update Report by DataReportal, We Are Social and Manochi, places Kenya ahead of the United Arab Emirates at 94.2 percent and Indonesia at 93.6 percent. Egypt follows at 93.4 percent, while other major African markets also recorded high levels of adoption.

The report’s findings point to the rapid integration of AI into everyday digital activity in Kenya, where the technology is being used by individuals, students, employees and businesses for tasks ranging from information searches and learning to customer service, fraud detection and automation.

The Kenyan figure is significantly above the global average of 81.2 percent of online adults who reported using at least one form of AI within the previous month. The global estimate is based on GWI research involving more than 240,000 people aged 16 and above across 54 markets representing more than 80 percent of the world’s internet user base.

Kenya’s high ranking comes as businesses increasingly incorporate AI into their operations. Local companies are using the technology in areas such as customer support, credit scoring, fraud detection and process automation, with mobile money and digital financial services providing some of the most visible applications.

Safaricom, for instance, has deployed AI in areas including M-Pesa customer support and fraud detection across its platforms, reflecting the growing use of the technology to manage large volumes of customer interactions and identify potentially suspicious transactions.

The report, however, cautions that the 97.5 percent figure should not be interpreted as meaning that almost every Kenyan internet user is using ChatGPT or another standalone generative AI chatbot.

Kenya leads world in AI adoption

GWI’s measure covers a broad definition of AI, including AI functionality embedded in software such as Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, creative applications such as Canva and Adobe Creative Cloud, as well as standalone AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude.

Globally, the report estimates that about 4.02 billion adults aged 16 and above now use some form of AI each month. This is equivalent to 48.6 percent of the world’s total population, although the report stresses that the figure is based on usage among internet users aged 16 and above rather than the entire population.

Generative AI is also expanding rapidly. Manochi estimates that 2.42 billion people are active users of standalone generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Doubao. This represents about 29.2 percent of the global population.

The number of active generative AI users increased by more than 1.4 billion between April 2025 and April 2026, representing annual growth of about 141 percent, according to the report.

Kenya is also a leading market for ChatGPT. Data cited in analysis of the report shows that 42.1 percent of Kenyan internet users aged 16 and above said they had used ChatGPT during the previous month, the highest share among the markets covered.

The popularity of AI in Kenya is particularly pronounced among younger internet users. Globally, 89.4 percent of internet users aged 16 to 24 reported using AI within the previous 30 days, while usage remains above 80 percent among users aged 25 to 44. Adoption falls below 80 percent among those aged 45 to 54 and continues to decline among older users.

The report also provides insight into what people are doing with AI. Finding information is the leading motivation, cited by 58.8 percent of active AI users. Getting advice on problems comes second at 37.8 percent, while 37 percent say they use AI to learn or improve their skills.

Users are not limiting the technology to one task. The average AI user selected 3.1 different motivations for using AI, while 26.5 percent said they use AI for entertainment.

The rapid adoption is also reshaping the competitive landscape for digital services. Globally, ChatGPT remains the most widely used standalone generative AI platform. Similarweb data cited by the report shows that ChatGPT’s mobile applications had about 592 million monthly active users in February 2026, compared with 152 million for Google’s Gemini and just under 62 million for Grok.

The report notes that AI adoption is particularly strong in emerging markets, with countries in Africa and Asia generally recording higher usage rates than many developed Western economies.

In the United States, for example, 71.5 percent of online adults said they had used AI during the previous month, while the figure for the United Kingdom was 62.8 percent. China recorded adoption of 86.4 percent.

The trend underscores the growing importance of Kenya’s digital economy, where widespread internet access, mobile money and digital financial services have created an environment in which new technologies can quickly reach large numbers of consumers.

For businesses, the high level of AI use presents opportunities to automate routine functions, improve customer engagement and analyse large volumes of data. It also raises questions around data protection, accuracy, cybersecurity, skills and responsible use as AI becomes more deeply embedded in commercial operations.

The report’s findings suggest that AI is moving beyond being a specialised technology into a mainstream digital tool, with Kenya at the forefront of that transition.