--- title: "Spanish firms’ use of artificial intelligence: recent progress and factors linked to its use · AI Fault Line" url: https://aifaultline.com/research/p/doi-10-53479-44865/ description: "AI Fault Line is a neutral, evidence-cited field guide to why experts looking at the same developments disagree about AI's effect on productivity, jobs, inequality, regulation and the pace of change." --- [Research](https://aifaultline.com/research/) # Spanish firms’ use of artificial intelligence: recent progress and factors linked to its use [Jacob Hess](https://aifaultline.com/authors/jacob-hess/), [Diana Posada Restrepo](https://aifaultline.com/authors/diana-posada-restrepo/) · [Documento ocasional/Documento ocasional - Banco de España](https://aifaultline.com/sources/documento-ocasional-documento-ocasional-banco-de-espa-a/) · 4 Nov 2026 [Read original source](https://doi.org/10.53479/44865) Where this sits in the debate - [Will AI actually boost productivity and growth?](https://aifaultline.com/debate/productivity/) · its finding: it depends ([why studies differ](https://aifaultline.com/debate/productivity/#why)) - [Will AI destroy more jobs than it creates?](https://aifaultline.com/debate/jobs/) Direction of the finding as read from the abstract by an AI model ([AI-written](https://aifaultline.com/about/)). ## Abstract The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) among Spanish firms has increased significantly between 2024 and 2026, although with substantial heterogeneity. While small and medium-sized firms continue to use AI primarily on an experimental basis, large firms use it more intensively, with persistent differences across firm sizes and sectors. The impact on employment remains limited, although improvements in productivity and investment are already emerging. AI-adopting firms are characterised by higher productivity, higher wages, and a larger share of intangible assets, pointing to complementarities between AI adoption and skilled human capital. Barriers to adoption vary across firms: resource constraints and the perception of limited usefulness are predominant among non-adopters, while a smaller group of firms faces technical or regulatory barriers. ## About this publication **Unranked journal.** A journal that is not on the economics or computer-science rankings this guide uses. That says nothing about one paper, but no ranking vouches for the journal’s review. [How sources are ranked](https://aifaultline.com/about/#source-ranking). Published 2026 (recently) Citations 0 (OpenAlex) 0 citations recorded by OpenAlex — too few 2026 papers in this collection for a fair comparison. [Chart: published 2026] ## Reaches a different conclusion Papers on the same question whose finding points the other way, as read from the abstracts by an AI model ([AI-written](https://aifaultline.com/about/)). [Why studies differ](https://aifaultline.com/debate/productivity/#why). - [Experimental evidence on the productivity effects of generative artificial intelligence](https://aifaultline.com/research/p/doi-10-1126-science-adh2586/) Productivity: its finding supports the claim · Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang · 2023 - [The simple macroeconomics of AI](https://aifaultline.com/research/p/doi-10-1093-epolic-eiae042/) Productivity: its finding goes against the claim · Daron Acemoğlu · 2024 ## Related papers On the same debate questions, key papers first; related by topic, not by method or conclusion. Browse all: [Productivity](https://aifaultline.com/research/?question=productivity) · [Jobs](https://aifaultline.com/research/?question=jobs). - [How Might Fiscal Policy Respond to the Rise of Artificial Intelligence?](https://aifaultline.com/research/p/doi-10-3386-w35437/) Karen Dynan et al. · NBER · 2026 - [Forecasting the Economic Effects of AI](https://aifaultline.com/research/p/title-1291a6248b6de2d6/) Ezra Karger et al. · NBER · 2026 - [Task Expansion with Generative AI: Experimental Evidence on Middle-Skilled, Early-Career Workers](https://aifaultline.com/research/p/doi-10-65864-euu6lxmt4t/) Hanna Brosch et al. · CESifo · 2026 - [Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects](https://aifaultline.com/research/p/doi-10-3386-w33777/) Anders Humlum and Emilie Vestergaard · NBER · 2025 Overview assembled automatically from collected metadata. [How this site is built](https://aifaultline.com/about/).