The Future Is Here: AI Is Making Its Way Into the Day-to-Day Operations of Russian Companies
Today, millions upon millions of people around the globe use AI models in their daily lives, while CEOs are considering optimal AI-driven business models to cut costs and maximize profits. This transformation has also taken hold in Russia’s economy. Those who don’t want to be left behind began implementing modern IT technologies years ago. Yet most Russian companies are struggling with the transition to AI solutions.
AI Market Shows Strong Growth but Is Vulnerable to Sanctions
The Russian market for artificial intelligence (AI) grew by 29.7% last year compared to 2024, reaching 316.1 billion rubles (3.3 billion euros), according to a study by the Moscow-based market research firm Aiana. Compared to 2023, the market volume has even doubled. This growth is accompanied by a shift in investment: from purchasing equipment to renting computing power and implementing solutions. In Germany, the AI market is estimated at over 9 billion euros. According to the German data provider Statista, the global AI market totaled 254.5 billion U.S. dollars last year.
A total of 883 companies are currently active in the Russian AI market. 386 of them offer ready-made AI products for specific tasks, but together these account for only 22.6% of total revenue. Most revenue—31.1%—continues to be generated in the AI equipment segment, where 148 companies operate. Business-to-business (B2B) customers account for 71.9% of the AI industry’s revenue. An additional 15.6% of revenue comes from private individuals, and 12.5% from government agencies and public institutions.
Analysts see enormous growth potential in the AI sector. According to Aiana’s baseline scenario, the artificial intelligence market in Russia will grow to 830 billion rubles (8.7 billion euros) by 2030. A positive scenario—which assumes a lower key interest rate, fewer geopolitical risks, and the international scaling of Russian AI solutions—even projects a market volume of 1.12 trillion rubles (11.7 billion euros). However, a moderate increase to 582 billion rubles (6.1 billion euros) cannot be ruled out, given ongoing sanctions and a lack of access to foreign technologies, as outlined in Aiana’s negative scenario.
A distant dream is a thing of the past
According to a study by the Moscow-based consulting firm Yakov and Partners, 71% of Russian companies used artificial intelligence in at least one business area last year—an increase of 17 percentage points compared to 2024. In particular, the market volume for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) saw a massive growth surge in 2025, rising from 13 billion to 58 billion rubles, according to market research firm Onside, equivalent to 136.5 to 609.3 million euros. Generative AI uses AI assistants to create text, images, and videos, analyze data, and generate program code.
“Companies see GenAI as a tool for increasing efficiency and revenue,” explains Maksim Bolotsckich, an AI expert at Yakov and Partners. “87% of companies hope this will reduce operating costs. 83% want to generate more revenue through the resulting increase in product value and improvement in the customer experience,” the expert continues.
Against this backdrop, autonomous AI agents are also being used more and more frequently. They automate complex processes by independently taking on tasks. For example, AI agents can reconcile invoices, review correspondence, conduct compliance checks, and forward these to the appropriate employees. According to Yakov and Partners, 46% of the companies surveyed have either already implemented such autonomous AI agents or are currently testing them.
Computer vision (CV) is widely used in manufacturing, logistics, and the financial sector. 67% of the companies surveyed by Yakov and Partners use CV to monitor safety and production processes in factories and warehouses. AI-powered predictive analytics can be used to calculate future scenarios, assess supply chains, and conduct market and customer analyses, such as credit checks. According to industry experts, most major financial institutions and retail chains now have this technology, which can save billions of rubles.
Integration Faces Challenges
However, the enormous potential of artificial intelligence is not immediately accessible to every company. Small and medium-sized enterprises are often unprepared for implementation, says Oleg Saschin, a CEO advisor at the Russian software developer Content AI. The expert identifies the obstacles as the lack of a unified infrastructure and the lack of expertise for independent integration. Small businesses are content with chatbots for handling inquiries and generative AI for content creation, Saschin adds. Small and medium-sized enterprises, in turn, use integrated office assistants to summarize online meetings, structure data, and draft emails.
However, the gap between many companies and the market leaders is widening: While major banks, retail chains, telecom providers, and parts of the manufacturing sector already use AI on a daily basis, most small and medium-sized enterprises are taking their first steps with pilot projects, according to market experts.
Most-Used AI Models
According to the market research firm Digital Budget, data traffic for the twelve most widely used AI models in Russia grew nearly sixfold between January and October 2025. By far the most popular AI model among Russian users was ChatGPT, accounting for about 40% of all sessions on AI platforms. It was followed by DeepSeek (28%), GigaChat (7.3%) from Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, Qwen (7%), and Alisa AI (6%) from Russian internet giant Yandex. The top five AI models thus accounted for more than 88% of total data traffic in Russia.
At the same time, Russian users are increasingly encountering difficulties accessing the U.S. AI services ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini. These have long been officially unavailable in Russia, as have most major foreign language models—with the exception of DeepSeek from China. Until now, however, individuals and businesses have been able to access ChatGPT and similar services via VPN services and subscription brokers abroad.
Sources: Frank Media, Cnews, Yakov and Partners, 3Dnews, Digital Quarterly
Source: German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade, “The Future Is Here: AI Is Making Its Way Into the Day-to-Day Operations of Russian Companies,” August 14, 2026.
This article was prepared for the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade.