Quick Answer:
Brazil and Mexico lead artificial intelligence adoption in Latin America, with 76% and 70% of digital users already relying on these tools, according to a colloquium hosted by El Colegio de México and El Colegio Nacional. The region generates 14% of global visits to AI solutions with only 11% of the world's internet users, according to CEPAL.
Key Takeaways:
- Leading adoption: Brazil reaches 76% AI adoption among digital users and Mexico reaches 70%, according to indicators cited at the colloquium "¿El Leviatán artificial? IA en el mundo hispanoamericano."
- Regional weight: CEPAL reports Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14% of global visits to AI solutions, despite having only 11% of the world's internet users.
- Risks identified: Ana Covarrubias, president of El Colegio de México, pointed to a very blurry line between benefits and risks, citing data privacy, algorithmic bias, and loss of public trust.
- Institutional gap: Fernando Nieto Morales, of El Colegio de México, warned that this transformation advances much faster than institutions' capacity to regulate it.
- Three regulatory models: according to Nieto Morales, China relies on state intervention, the United States on industry self-regulation, and Europe on specific rules and standards.
When a business in Houston, Cypress, Monterrey, or Bogotá wonders whether its customers are already using AI to search, compare, and decide, the answer arrived with concrete numbers this week. The use of artificial intelligence already exceeds 70% of digital users in some of Latin America's largest markets, amid a rapid expansion of this technology across the region, according to a report by the EFE news agency carried by Infobae.
Brazil and Mexico Lead AI Adoption
According to Infobae, Brazil and Mexico stand out among the countries with the most widespread AI adoption, with figures of 76% and 70% respectively. Those indicators were cited during the colloquium "¿El Leviatán artificial? IA en el mundo hispanoamericano," held under the framework of the México-Spain Chair of El Colegio de México and El Colegio Nacional. During the event, experts warned of the need to establish rules for the ethical use of a technology that keeps advancing faster.
The expansion is also reflected in the region's weight in global usage of these tools. According to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), cited in the same coverage, Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14% of global visits to AI solutions, despite representing only 11% of the world's internet users. It is a region using AI beyond its demographic weight online.
A region overrepresented in AI usage: with only 11% of the world's internet users, Latin America and the Caribbean generate 14% of global traffic to artificial intelligence solutions, according to CEPAL. That gap between connected population and AI consumption is, according to Infobae, one of the central data points from the colloquium.
Ana Covarrubias's Warnings
During the event, the president of El Colegio de México, Ana Covarrubias, noted that the advance of these tools requires opening a broader discussion about how they are used. As Infobae reports, Covarrubias stated: "En la actualidad, la IA es una herramienta que permea gran parte de nuestras actividades cotidianas. Su incidencia en nuestro trabajo académico es innegable" ("Today, AI is a tool that permeates much of our daily activities. Its impact on our academic work is undeniable").
In her view, educational institutions must become spaces for reflection and reference points for promoting the ethical use of a technology that presents opportunities but also new risks. Covarrubias warned of a "very blurry line between benefits and risks" and mentioned challenges related to data privacy, algorithmic bias, and disinformation, as well as manipulation of public opinion, digital surveillance, and loss of public trust. She also flagged the effects AI can have on the originality and authorship of academic work, though she insisted these tools do not replace human thinking.
"Mexico Is Already Living the AI Revolution," Says Nieto Morales
Fernando Nieto Morales, professor and researcher at the Center for International Studies at El Colegio de México, stated that "México ya no debe preguntarse si está preparado para adoptar la IA, sino cómo enfrentará una transformación tecnológica que ya está ocurriendo" ("Mexico should no longer ask whether it is prepared to adopt AI, but how it will confront a technological transformation that is already happening"). Nieto Morales emphasized that this transformation "avanza mucho más rápido que la capacidad institucional para regularla" ("advances much faster than institutions' capacity to regulate it").
While automated systems and chatbots can ease the workload by answering citizen inquiries or speeding up paperwork, the academic warned that these tools can create accountability problems when a decision is no longer clearly tied to a responsible person. In those cases, he explained, the decision can end up depending on an algorithm whose logic is not always easy to review or subject to public scrutiny. "México ya vive la revolución de la IA, pero carece de regulación y capacidades para enfrentarla" ("Mexico is already living the AI revolution, but it lacks the regulation and capabilities to confront it"), he said.
Three Ways the World Is Regulating AI
Nieto Morales explained that different approaches to AI regulation currently exist around the world. According to the professor, China has opted for strong state intervention, while the United States has given greater room to industry participation and self-regulation by technology companies. Europe, for its part, has advanced through specific rules and standards for the development and use of these technologies.
Spanish philosopher and mathematician Javier Echeverría Ezponda, a member of the Academia Vasca de Ciencias, Artes y Letras, noted at the same event that tools like ChatGPT are part of a much broader technological transformation. For Echeverría, AI is changing how people work, relate to knowledge, and participate in the digital environment.
What This Means for Your Business
The underlying data point from the colloquium, for any business in Latin America or the United States, is simple: most of your customers already use AI to search for information before deciding where to buy or who to hire. If Brazil and Mexico already exceed 70% adoption among digital users, it is reasonable to assume that a growing share of your own customers in Houston, Cypress, Monterrey, or Bogotá are using AI assistants as part of their decision process, even if your business does not yet show up in those answers.
That is where our AI search optimization (AEO) service comes in. While the public debate focuses on regulation and risk, the practical question for your business is more immediate: when someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews about a product or service like yours, does your brand appear in the answer? A free MerchandisePROS audit checks exactly that: where you are visible to AI today, and what is missing so that the next time a potential customer asks an AI assistant, your business is in the answer.
Nieto Morales himself summarizes why this matters even outside the regulatory debate: the transformation he describes "advances much faster than institutions' capacity to regulate it," and that same lag repeats itself at business scale. The web-traffic rules, keywords, and traditional SEO a business spent years mastering do not guarantee it shows up when a customer asks an AI assistant a direct question instead of typing it into a search engine. Adoption on the user side, documented at the colloquium, has already arrived. Adaptation on the business side is still catching up.
That gap is exactly where MerchandisePROS works with businesses across the United States and Latin America, not replacing traditional SEO or digital marketing, but adding the visibility layer AI answer engines need to correctly cite, recommend, or describe a business. The sooner that visibility gets audited, the lower the risk of being left out of the conversation right when, according to Brazil and Mexico's own numbers, most digital users already delegate part of their purchase decisions to AI tools.
"The region adopted AI faster than most businesses realized. The question that matters now is not whether your customers use AI, but whether your business shows up when they ask."
Diego Medina F., Founder of MerchandisePROS
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of digital users in Brazil and Mexico use AI?
According to indicators cited during the colloquium "¿El Leviatán artificial? IA en el mundo hispanoamericano", Brazil reaches 76% AI adoption among digital users and Mexico reaches 70%, two of the highest figures among Latin America's largest markets.
How much weight does Latin America carry in global AI usage?
According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14% of global visits to AI solutions, despite representing only 11% of the world's internet users.
What risks did Ana Covarrubias identify around AI adoption?
Ana Covarrubias, president of El Colegio de México, warned of a very blurry line between benefits and risks, citing challenges related to data privacy, algorithmic bias, disinformation, manipulation of public opinion, digital surveillance, and loss of public trust.
How do global AI regulatory models differ?
Fernando Nieto Morales, of the Center for International Studies at El Colegio de México, explained that China has opted for strong state intervention, the United States has allowed greater room for industry participation and self-regulation, and Europe has advanced through specific rules and standards.