Between 86% and 97% of people in every group we surveyed use AI tools.
91% of SMEs see AI as strategically vital over the next 3 to 5 years, and 26.7% already deploy agentic AI.
Global AI Literacy Study
Everybody uses AI. Very few understand it. Our 2026 Global AI Literacy Study surveyed four groups that will decide whether AI makes economies and societies stronger or more fragile: young people and students, teachers, experienced professionals aged 45 and older, and small and midsized businesses (SMEs).
64% of SMEs tolerate employees using personal AI apps for work.
Only 28% have strict rules, while data protection and security is their top AI concern.
44% of professionals aged 45+ receive no AI upskilling from their employer.
Only 7% cite lack of confidence with the technology as a barrier.
Cognitive debt is the risk every group names.
Young people’s top concern about AI is losing critical thinking or creativity (47%), well ahead of losing jobs (28%).
Services
Four ways we turn AI Literacy into your competitive engine
Organizational AI Literacy Assessment
See how your organization compares. We apply the Barometer methodology inside your organization and benchmark your workforce against our global data.
Board & Executive AI Literacy
We deliver board sessions, executive workshops and one-to-one advisory discussing AI governance and regulatory compliance.
Implementing Elastic Organizations
We work with CHROs and CTOs to prepare their workforce for human-AI collaboration.
Trainings and Briefings
We offer AI Literacy courses and webinars to get you fluent in what AI is, what its risks and cost drivers are, and what it means for you and your organization.
AI Literacy Barometer
Our data collection engine
The AI Literacy Barometer takes the methodology of the Global AI Literacy Study and applies it to further industries, geographies and age groups, measuring AI Literacy and AI Fluency across societies and economies.
The Barometer measures
AI Literacy
What people understand about how AI works, what it can and cannot do, what it costs and where it fails.
AI Fluency
How confidently and effectively people use AI tools.
Fears and Expectations
The factors driving adoption, or resistance.
Governance Maturity
Clarity of mandate: what AI is solving for in an organization, and what regulatory regimes apply to ensure compliance.
By the numbers
The Global AI Literacy Study
1
Framework across
4 populations
~4,000
Respondents
240
Transcribed
interview hours
180
Third-party
sources & statistics
0
Vendor support,
public or private grants,
or donations
Research basis
The transcribed interviews are with AI researchers and developers.
We use third-party sources and statistics to triangulate our findings, including the OECD, UNESCO, RAND, Stanford, MIT, PwC, McKinsey, OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft.