Executive summary Latin America can leverage AI for positive long-term economic and social impact. AI has the potential to significantly increase productivity, ultimately redefining how societies work and compete. By automating tasks and workflows and augmenting decision-making, it allows workers and businesses to focus on higher- value activities, boosting output for the same time, labour and capital investment. AI holds considerable potential for Latin America, where economic growth has historically been propelled by workforce expansion rather than productivity gains. Advancing AI adoption throughout the region may increase productivity by 1.9% to 2.3% per year and create an estimated $1.1 trillion to $1.7 trillion in additional annual economic value. Given that productivity has not typically served as the primary driver of growth in Latin America, this opportunity is particularly significant. Realizing it, however, requires targeted action and sustained investment. This report assesses Latin America’s level of AI readiness and adoption through macro-economic data, company-level analyses and qualitative consultations with a senior multistakeholder group. The framework builds on the layers presented in the World Economic Forum’s Blueprint for Intelligent Economies.1 The proposed path forward is summarized in a roadmap with actionable recommendations that position the region strategically in the Intelligent Age. The research for this report identifies significant progress and opportunities alongside critical gaps: 1. Adoption is increasing across various industries and countries, particularly in domains like customer service and software engineering. However, actual economic impact and value capture remain limited. According to our regional survey conducted for this report, only 23% of Latin American organizations are generating any economic value from AI use, and only 6% across the region report significant value creation from AI. 2. To accelerate value capture, AI strategies need to focus on truly reimagining core business processes and whole business models, rather than simply seeking incremental productivity tools. Only small share of survey respondents report that their AI strategy is systematically linked to their broader business strategy. At a macro-level, AI strategies in the region could focus on adapting technologies and scaling high-impact use cases in sectors where Latin America holds a global competitive edge, such as agriculture, mining and tourism. Currently, the financial sector, which has a history of leveraging technology, boasts the best examples of impactful AI applications in the region. 3. Talent availability remains one of the most significant challenges. While multinational companies are looking to Latin America as a location for their technology delivery centres, local organizations find it hard to compete. Companies in the region must create compelling offers and career paths for AI talent and train their existing employees across all levels. At the same time, it is vital to expand the talent pool to increase the attractiveness of the region as an innovation destination. This includes, for instance, updating educational curricula to align with core skill demands. 4. There have been improvements in foundational infrastructure, such as increased access to high-speed internet and growing data centre and computing capacity. However, a persistent urban-rural connectivity divide threatens to widen inequality and undercut the potential of AI as a democratizing force. In addition, the mounting resource needs for powering AI may create new challenges if not properly addressed. 5. Regional collaboration represents a key opportunity in the public and the private sectors, especially given shared languages and largely common cultural values. Structured regional collaboration remains limited. Looking ahead, closing these gaps demands an articulated vision and disciplined execution. Progress will require decisive, targeted contributions from every actor, aligned to a shared goal. Latin America in the Intelligent Age: A New Path for Growth 5

Latin America Intelligent Age