Short answer
An analysis based on TurkStat's survey of ICT use in enterprises shows that AI use among Turkish businesses more than tripled in two years. Small firms are catching up faster in relative terms, but the absolute gap with large firms has widened. Use stands out in marketing, sales and R&D, which gives small teams a clear starting point.
Highlights
- The share of firms using AI rose from 4.4% in 2024 to 14% in 2026.
- The gap between large and small firms widened from 18.8 to 24.3 points.
- Marketing and sales, and R&D, stand out among the areas where firms use AI.
2 min readAuthor: UNIT Journal EditorEditor-in-chief: Uğur Deniz İlhan
Research İstanbul's analysis in its Susam Bülten newsletter interprets data from TurkStat's survey on ICT use in enterprises. As Marketing Türkiye reports, the share of firms with 10 or more employees that use AI was 4.4% in 2024, 7.5% in 2025 and 14% in 2026.
Has the gap between small and large firms closed?
No. Use among firms with 10–49 employees roughly quadrupled in two years, but the absolute gap grew. The difference between firms with 250 or more employees and small firms was 18.8 points in 2024 and 24.3 points in 2026. In 2026 the rates were 12.8% for small firms, 17% for firms with 50–249 employees and 37.1% for the largest.
Which sectors and tasks lead?
Use reached 63.7% in telecommunications and in programming and IT activities, and 57.1% in publishing, broadcasting and content activities. Both are more than four times the overall average. The analysis also notes that TurkStat moved to the NACE Rev. 2.1 classification in 2026, so sector rates cannot be compared directly with 2025.
Among firms using AI, marketing and sales, and R&D stand out. Use in both rose compared with 2024, while it fell in logistics and IT security.
What should small and mid-sized firms do?
The data show that adopting AI is no longer an exception. But they measure whether tools are used, not what they return, so "we use AI" does not mean a gain. For firms that want to decide where to start, AI consultancy usually begins with choosing the use case.
- Pick one marketing or sales process (for example proposal copy, ad copy variations or lead summaries) and set a single metric up front.
- Write down what data each tool processes, and set rules for tools that receive customer data under Turkey's KVKK data protection law.
- Judge results by conversion and cost data, the way performance marketing does, not by how often a tool is used.
- Treat the 14% overall rate as a benchmark, not a target.
Frequently asked
- Do these rates cover all companies?
- No. The analysis covers firms with 10 or more employees. Smaller firms fall outside these rates.
Sources
- Marketing Türkiye ·
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