Four in five Swiss internet users now use AI, says Digimonitor 2026

What happened

On 25 August, the IGEM-Digimonitor 2026 media study found that 80% of Swiss internet users aged 15 to 75 use AI, double the 40% of 2024. About a third use it every day (IGEM summary, PDF, SRF). WEMF ran the survey for IGEM with 1,957 people in March and April 2026, across all three main language regions.

Why it matters for your business

Three findings matter for an SME:

• Customers ask AI before they buy. 39% consult AI platforms for purchase advice, about as many as use YouTube for it (40%) and more than social media (36%). SRF reports that using chatbots for sales advice rose from 6% to nearly 40% in two years.
• ChatGPT dominates. 67% use ChatGPT, followed by Gemini (32%) and Microsoft Copilot (30%). Meta AI is at 13%, Claude and Perplexity at 10% each, and the European Mistral at 3%.
• Work use is already high. 61% use AI for work or education, against 76% privately.

The second point tells you where to look first when you check how AI describes your business. The third tells you your staff are using it, whether or not you’ve set rules.

The Swiss angle

This is Swiss data: a representative sample of 1,002 people in German-speaking, 747 in French-speaking and 208 in Italian-speaking Switzerland, with a margin of error of ±2.2 percentage points (IGEM summary). It measures people, not companies, so it says nothing directly about how many firms use AI. It does show your customers and staff have moved faster than most company policies.

What to do

Two quick checks. Ask ChatGPT and Gemini “Who would you recommend for [your service] in [your town]?” and note what comes back. Then ask your team which AI tools they use for work. If the answer includes free personal accounts, it’s time for a short AI policy and a business plan (see our 7 August issue).

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Sources

• IGEM, 25 August 2026: IGEM-Digimonitor 2026 summary (PDF, German)
• SRF, 25 August 2026: Digimonitor: KI-Nutzung nimmt in der Schweiz zu
• Netzwoche, 25 August 2026: KI setzt ihren Siegeszug fort