A new white paper from IslaIntel, a Puerto Rico-based AI market intelligence and ecosystem mapping firm, finds that 84% of organizations on the island have deployed artificial intelligence in at least one business function, compared with a global baseline of 72%. The report, titled "Puerto Rico AI in 2027: The Ecosystem Map for Workforce Evolution, SME Adoption, and Enterprise Deployment," notes adoption remains uneven: multinational corporations and larger enterprises lead implementation, while many small and midsize businesses rely on basic subscription tools rather than enterprise-wide integration.
The paper argues AI should be seen as a response to Puerto Rico's demographic, economic and infrastructure challenges, not just a productivity tool. Ariana Rodríguez, technical writer for IslaIntel, said the data challenges the notion that AI simply replaces workers, describing applied AI as an "essential cognitive scaffold" that augments personnel, preserves institutional knowledge, and elevates local workers into higher-value technical roles.
Researchers identified a gap between businesses experimenting with AI and those able to integrate it into daily operations, citing talent shortages, compliance concerns, data privacy anxiety and limited technical expertise as primary obstacles rather than lack of interest. The report divides Puerto Rico's AI market into three segments: applied AI startups, enterprise integration among larger organizations like banks and insurers, and the largely untapped SME automation market.