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Microsoft finds AI use soaring worldwide yet rich poor divide is widening again
Technology
Published on 7 May 2026
Developed countries are adopting AI far faster
Microsoft’s latest report says generative AI is now used by 17.8% of the world’s working-age population, but the adoption gap keeps growing. In Q1 2026, 27.5% of people aged 15–64 in developed countries used generative AI, versus 15.4% in the developing world. The divide widened by 1.5 percentage points from late 2025.
- 17.8% of working age people use generative AI globally
- Developed countries lead sharply at 27.5% versus 15.4% in developing nations
- The rich poor gap widened by 1.5 points from late 2025
- AI adoption momentum is uneven across the world
Read the full story at The Economic Times
This summarization was done by Beige for a story published on 
The Economic Times