Central Asia and Caucasus deploy AI at twice global rate KPMG finds

Companies in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) are deploying artificial intelligence at industrial scale at more than twice the rate of their global peers, according to a KPMG report, although the region still lags in formal AI strategy and governance.

Some 53% of surveyed CAC companies said they had reached industrial-scale AI implementation with measurable returns across multiple use cases, compared with 24% globally. KPMG surveyed more than 2,500 technology executives in 27 countries, including 40 respondents from the Caucasus and 32 from Central Asia.

Konstantin Aushev, KPMG Caucasus and Central Asia’s partner and Head of Technology Practice, cautioned that some respondents may have interpreted “production” broadly.

"We suspect that in our region the respondents included in their responses such fragmented cases as text and voice bots," Aushev told Euronews.

Still, the region has produced large-scale deployments. Kazakhstan’s national communications operator Kazakhtelecom has used AI since mid-2025 across customer service, procurement, human resources, finance, regulatory documents, occupational safety and recruitment.

"The implementation model is mixed. The central team is responsible for platforms, security, quality, and complex products. For smaller tasks, we use an agent creation platform," Kazakhtelecom AI officer Yerzhan Assanov said.

Business & Technology Services (BTS), part of Eurasian Resources Group, uses computer vision to inspect mining equipment and data analysis to process geological reports. BTS says about 10% of its generative-AI pilots reach production, compared with about 80% for “classical AI” such as machine learning and computer vision.

The region also has a stronger experimentation culture: 44% of companies favour proactive experimentation, versus 21% globally. KPMG found 43% favour “rapid but selective adaptation”, compared with 36% worldwide.

Aushev said the region was more chaotic several years ago, but that “Brownian motion” is diminishing.

“Today, a certain chaos remains, but nevertheless, there is a deeper understanding of where we need artificial intelligence and where we don't,” he said.

Yet formalisation remains a weakness. Only 34% of CAC companies have a company-wide AI strategy aligned with business and technology goals, compared with 76% globally, while only 25% have cross-functional AI governance, versus 69% worldwide.

"The same applies to existing AI governance mechanisms. Only a quarter of companies in our region say they have them in place, and even fewer say they can clearly measure the return on investment in AI," Aushev said.

He said companies and governments, including Kazakhstan, are increasingly moving toward formal AI rules, policies and procedures.

By Tamilla Hasanova