If you run a business in Houston, Miami, Monterrey, or Bogotá, a recent figure deserves your attention. According to an EFE wire story published by Infobae on August 20, 2026, artificial intelligence use exceeds 70% of digital users in some of the main Latin American markets, with 76% in Brazil and 70% in Mexico.
The story does not define precisely what "adoption" means: it refers to AI use in general. Even so, the direction is clear, and it affects business owners in the United States (including Latino owned businesses) as well as in Latin America. This guide explains what the data does say, what we think, and what you can do this week.
Quick Answer:
According to Infobae (EFE), Brazil records 76% and Mexico 70% AI adoption, but the story covers general use, not shopping or searching. It is reasonable to expect more customers to ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity, so complete your Google Business Profile, publish service pages with FAQs, add schema, and keep your details consistent.
Key Takeaways:
- Reported figures: Infobae (EFE story, August 20, 2026) cites 76% AI adoption in Brazil and 70% in Mexico.
- Scope of the source: the story does not specify the definition of adoption or who was measured, and it does not measure shopping or business searches.
- Regional weight: according to Infobae, citing ECLAC (CEPAL), Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14% of global visits to AI solutions with 11% of the world's internet users.
- MerchandisePROS analysis (opinion): if your customers use AI, your business needs clear, complete, and consistent information that an AI can read and cite.
- Action this week: complete your Google Business Profile, publish service pages with FAQs, add valid schema, and unify your name, address, and phone number.
What the Data Says (and What It Does Not)
The EFE story collects indicators cited during the colloquium "¿El Leviatán artificial? IA en el mundo hispanoamericano." According to the text, Brazil and Mexico stand out among the countries with the most widespread adoption, at 76% and 70%. The same story notes that, according to ECLAC (CEPAL), Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14% of global visits to AI solutions, even though they hold only 11% of the planet's internet users.
What the story does not offer is the methodology: it does not clarify who was measured, how often they use AI, or for what. For that reason we cannot claim these figures measure AI use for searching or deciding purchases. What we can say is that the region uses AI tools in an increasingly visible way.
MerchandisePROS analysis (opinion, not data from the source):
When many people get used to asking an AI questions, it is reasonable to assume some of those questions will be of the type "which business near me should I pick?" That is not a figure measured by Infobae or ECLAC: it is a working hypothesis worth addressing because preparing costs little.
What It Means for a Small Business in the US or Latin America
Our analysis is simple: an AI assistant answers with the information it can find and understand. If your business shows up with incomplete or contradictory details, or details buried in a PDF, you have a lower chance of being mentioned than a business whose information is clear in several trusted places. There are no guarantees, but there is a solid foundation that depends on you.
The good news is that this foundation matches what already helps your human customers: correct details, well explained services, answers to common questions, and recent reviews. You do the work once and serve Google, AI, and your customers at the same time. You can see how we organize this work in our search and AI optimization services.
4 Things You Can Do This Week
- Complete your Google Business Profile. Review your primary category, services, hours, description, real photos, and website link. Reply to your recent reviews, especially the negative ones.
- Publish clear service pages with FAQs. One page per service, covering what is included, who it is for, your coverage area, and 3 or 4 real customer questions with direct answers.
- Add structured data (schema). Mark up your business as LocalBusiness and your questions as FAQPage in JSON-LD format, and validate that the code has no errors.
- Unify your details and ask for reviews. Use exactly the same name, address, and phone number on your website, Google, social media, and directories. Ask recent customers for reviews with a direct link.
If you want to know where you stand today, our free audit reviews your website and digital visibility and gives you a prioritized plan.
"Do not wait for the statistics to confirm it. If your customers already ask an AI, the minimum is for your information to be complete, clear, and the same everywhere."
Diego Medina F., Founder of MerchandisePROS
Frequently Asked Questions
What AI adoption percentages do Brazil and Mexico report?
According to an EFE wire story published by Infobae on August 20, 2026, Brazil reaches 76% and Mexico 70% AI adoption. The story does not detail how adoption was defined or measured.
Does this figure mean people search for or buy from businesses using AI?
No. The source discusses AI adoption in general and does not measure searching or buying. That is why the link to your business should be treated as a reasonable hypothesis, not as proven data.
What should I do first if I only have one hour this week?
Complete your Google Business Profile: primary category, services, hours, description, real photos, and replies to your reviews. It is one of the most visible public sources of data about a local business.
Do these actions guarantee that ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity will mention my business?
No, nobody can guarantee that. What you do is give any search engine or assistant clear, complete, and consistent information, which is the foundation for being found and cited.
How we do it at MerchandisePROS:
Every audit checks whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and other AI crawlers can actually reach your site and read your information. See what makes us different.