A Thursday report by Microsoft researchers indicated that global adoption of generative AI tools increased to 16.3% of the global population in the three months leading up to December, a rise from 15.1% in the preceding quarter.
However, the disparity in AI adoption between developed and developing countries is growing, as noted in the report, with advanced economies seeing nearly double the growth rate in AI adoption compared to developing nations.
“We are witnessing a divide, and we are worried it may continue to widen,” stated Juan Lavista Ferres, chief data scientist at Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, which utilized anonymized “telemetry” to monitor global device usage.
The report highlighted that countries which made early and consistent investments in digital infrastructure and AI, such as the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, France, and Spain, led in user adoption. Some of Microsoft’s statistics also aligned with findings from a Pew Research Center survey published in October, which explored countries more enthusiastic than anxious about AI. In both studies, South Korea notably distinguished itself in its adoption of AI.
Microsoft has a significant stake in AI adoption—its future business prospects and that of the broader tech industry rely on the widespread and profitable use of AI tools. However, Lavista Ferres emphasized that his lab is taking a broader perspective on the issue.
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His research found that the rapid emergence of the Chinese startup DeepSeek, established in 2023, has accelerated AI adoption in the developing world due to its free and “open source” models, which provide essential components for anyone to access and modify.
In January 2025, DeepSeek released its advanced reasoning AI model, R1, which it claimed was more cost-effective than a similar model from OpenAI. This announcement captured the attention of the global tech community, with many expressing surprise at China’s progress in technological advancements. The leading science journal Nature published peer-reviewed research co-authored by DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng in September, describing it as a “landmark paper” from the Chinese startup.
Lavista Ferres remarked that DeepSeek serves as a “good model” for functions like math or coding but behaves differently from U.S.-based models regarding political topics.
“We have noticed that for certain types of inquiries, they share the same internet access model that China employs,” he mentioned. “This means that certain questions will yield very different answers, especially political ones. In many respects, this can influence the world.”
DeepSeek provides a free chatbot for web and mobile and has granted developers worldwide the opportunity to modify and build upon its core engine. The absence of subscription fees has “reduced the barrier for millions of users, particularly in price-sensitive areas,” according to Microsoft’s report.
DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comments on the report.
“This combination of openness and affordability enabled DeepSeek to make strides in markets underserved by Western AI platforms,” the report further stated. “DeepSeek’s growth illustrates that global AI adoption is influenced as much by access and availability as by the quality of the models themselves.”
Advanced nations, including Australia, Germany, and the U.S., have attempted to restrict the use of DeepSeek, citing alleged security concerns. Microsoft banned its employees from using DeepSeek last year. The report found that adoption of DeepSeek remains limited in North America and Europe, but it has surged in its homeland, China, as well as in Russia, Iran, Cuba, and Belarus—locations where U.S. services face restrictions or where access to foreign tech is limited.
In many regions, the prevalence of DeepSeek is linked to its status as the default chatbot on widely available phones from Chinese manufacturers like Huawei.
The report estimates DeepSeek’s market share in China at 89%, followed by 56% in Belarus and 49% in Cuba, both of which also exhibit low AI adoption overall. In Russia, its market share was around 43%.
In Syria and Iran, DeepSeek’s market share reached approximately 23% and 25%, respectively. In various African nations, including Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Niger, DeepSeek’s market share fell between 11% and 14%.
“Open-source AI can serve as a geopolitical tool, extending Chinese influence in regions where Western platforms struggle to operate,” the report concluded.
