A study by MTS AdTech and the AI Alliance, conducted in September 2026 among 2,500 Russian residents over 18, reveals that 70% of users rely on free AI solutions. While 30% of respondents combine both domestic and foreign tools, 23% prefer only local services, and 17% use only international ones.
Paid AI services are used by 30% of the audience, with 13% subscribing regularly and 17% paying for one-time tasks. Overall, 56% of those surveyed use neural networks actively, while 44% have only experimented with them. Regular usage is highest among the 18–25 age group at 79%.
Text-based chatbots are the most popular format, favored by 54% of users, followed by image and video generators at 20%. The primary use case is information retrieval, cited by 67% of respondents, while 40% use AI for writing and 39% for visual content creation.
Regional usage data shows that 62% of residents in the Central Federal District use AI regularly. Furthermore, 52% of Russians report a more positive attitude toward AI compared to a year ago, with only 2% expressing a negative shift in perception.
