Latin America lags in capturing the economic value of artificial intelligence. A study by McKinsey & Company warns that while technology advances, only 23% of regional organizations report real economic benefits. According to the report 'Latin America in the Intelligent Age: A New Path for Growth,' presented by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, the region has the potential to generate between US$1.1 and US$1.7 trillion annually if it can accelerate the strategic implementation of these tools.
The reality of adoption versus economic value. Despite optimistic projections, the analysis reveals that the current economic impact of artificial intelligence is limited. Sectors such as agriculture in Brazil and Argentina, mining in Chile, and the financial sector have shown successful cases, optimizing everything from crop monitoring to bank risk management, but the scale of these applications remains insufficient for a comprehensive industry transformation.
Obstacles to technological scaling. The report identifies persistent challenges hindering the potential of artificial intelligence, highlighting the connectivity gap between urban and rural areas, insufficient data infrastructure, and a shortage of talent with specialized technical skills. The analysis concludes that the time to act is limited and that Latin America must quickly move from isolated experimentation to coordinated execution to secure its position in the intelligent era.
Latin America is at a historic juncture to transform its economy through the use of artificial intelligence, although it currently faces difficulties in converting technological adoption into concrete financial benefits. Only 23% of Latin American companies report having generated any economic value, and only 6% rate that value as significant.
The study also mentions the need for coordinated regulatory frameworks at a regional level and greater access to specialized financing. To reverse this situation, the study proposes a Competitiveness Roadmap that includes the development of data infrastructure leveraging the region's clean energy, mass technical training, and the creation of clear regulatory environments that foster trust and investment.
This concentration of benefits is mainly observed in large corporations, leaving out six out of ten small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which still do not record measurable results after their digitization attempts. The study attributes this lag to a fragmented vision: many organizations have implemented isolated productivity tools instead of reconfiguring their business models or core processes.
This lack of depth limits the technology's ability to become a sustainable driver of growth. In an environment where demographic growth is slowing and the population is aging, artificial intelligence emerges as an essential lever to boost productivity, which has grown by only 0.4% annually in the region over the last few decades.
