Investing.com — Emerging markets are extracting greater value from artificial intelligence than developed economies, according to a new study by Bernstein that examined global AI adoption patterns through March 2026.
The research found that nearly 18% of the global working-age population was using AI by March 2026, up from 15% nine months earlier. The analysis challenges the common view that developed markets are pulling ahead in AI adoption while emerging markets fall behind.
Bernstein said per-capita usage comparisons are misleading because emerging markets have larger populations and more workers in agriculture and low-end manufacturing, sectors that use less AI. When measured by absolute usage within the information economy, the gap between developed and emerging markets narrows substantially.
The study revealed a divide in how AI is being used across different regions. Emerging markets focus AI usage on software development, writing, editing and education. Developed markets lead in sales, finance and healthcare applications. Middle-income economies show greater concentration of usage in fewer areas, while developed markets display broader adoption across multiple sectors.
Users in emerging markets reported average time savings of 4.6 hours per task compared with 3.8 hours in developed markets. The firm found that 16% of tasks delegated to AI in emerging markets are beyond what users could have performed themselves, versus 12% in high-income economies.
Bernstein said developed markets use AI mainly to enhance quality, while emerging markets devote more than half of AI activity to automation. The firm noted that weekend AI activity among top-skilled workers has risen by 8%, with software engineers shifting from weekday debugging to weekend experimentation.
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