Overview

• A new government message emphasizes focusing on inference and fine‑tuning of pre‑trained models instead of building general models from scratch, with roughly half of the 54 actions in the national AI plan already showing results.
• Panorama 2026 reports that 77% of companies list AI as a 2026 priority, yet spending averages about 2% of annual budgets and 61% of executives say they have not seen relevant impact.
• Use of AI is already common among small businesses, with reporting indicating 80% adoption across tools such as chatbots and automation, reflecting broad uptake but uneven outcomes.
• Public programs aim to close the gap, including the Nova Indústria Brasil policy budgeting R$516 billion through 2026 and the Brasil Mais Produtivo initiative to help micro, small and mid‑sized firms modernize.
• Recent cases highlight risks from poor implementation, including a consultancy refund of AU$439,000 over AI‑related errors and studies citing productivity losses up to US$9 million a year, reinforcing expert calls for structured strategy and human oversight.