The year 2025 was a year of observation, uncertainty and, paradoxically, technological maturation without the return of proportional inversions. As Europe has moved forward with the implementation of the AI Act and regulatory initiatives have proliferated across the EU, our sector has learned that many are still reluctant to adopt: AI is powerful, but not infinitely rentable.
This year was crucial for AI for two reasons: organizations have become more intelligent in their use of technology, and as AI has become more powerful, we have also sought to reduce the performance of inversions In all areas, as MIT’s August report shows, it continues to demand the attention of many organizations dependent on excess technology.
We are witnessing this transformation firsthand. Our customers are finding that true AI isn’t the best until they know how to intelligently integrate it into their operations. By 2025, I will show how powerful artificial intelligence can be on an individual level, This will be a defining year for artificial intelligence at the organizational and industry leveland this will provide the best return we have ever seen.
Dear in this year 2026, The following trends will be key:
EU law represents a complex regulatory framework that other territories are still proposing. until 2026 We will see how this crucial regulation, focused on high-level applications, child safety, transparency and protection against malicious use, will create a standard of trust. which will differ from European companies in the global market.
Spanish and European companies that are adapted will now be around for years. This is the real dream: don’t live in regulatory uncertainty. The brand exists. Now, when it comes to operationalizing it, don’t wait for someone else to decide the rules. We help our customers to navigate it preciselyhow to build AI solutions that are not only powerful, but also compliant with European regulation from the start.
2025 has shown that organizations can use intelligent AI at the individual level. In 2026, there will be a qualitative leap: IA as a worker integrated into business processes due to the increase in knowledge that will lead to better returns that we have seen at the organizational and industry level.
Companies that learned their lessons in 2025 will now confidently turn around in 2026, not with speculation, but with real understanding. Spanish people who are afraid to ask others will find that they don’t have to be at the forefront of the investigation to achieve the true value of AI.. And that’s the difference between making marginal returns and making the best returns we’ve ever seen.
Over the years, obsession has produced language models, some of which are even larger and more similar to general intelligence. The industry followed ever larger modelsdiscovering opportunities in specialized and rental solutions.
Small language models (SLM, in its English abbreviations) represent a fundamental strategic change. Instead of competing in the global technological career of model gigantism, there is a clear and accessible opportunity: to reverse strategies designed for specific problems. A model that diagnoses rare diseases with greater accuracy in hospitals. Also optimization of specific ministerial steps in the agricultural and food sector.
It is the triumph of practice over unlimited ambition. And build me up, shop experience always helps. Spain has strength in specific sectors: tourism, agro-food industry, special manufacturers. SLM is the front door for these companies to master AI without the need for Google or Meta.
The irony of 2025 has been revealed: the lottery circular shops AI where money was turned to AI to make more AI which were signs of weakness not strength. The organizations felt that their vantage point was ready. And large models, due to their sophistication, face unpleasant problems: they cannot be operated independently for a long time without losing confidence, and we don’t have any real “IA colleagues” in full frame.
In 2026, the real competition will be the “AGI Scale Game”. We’re not talking about general AI logging until it scales up. And the ladder requires three things: more power, more data, more processes. Global fans will be equal with access to the most abundant resources. But here’s the important thing: Spain doesn’t need to buy this game to prosper. You have to focus on your own game: specialized solutions, regulatory efficiency, adaptability.
This is where many people make a strategic mistake. In 2025, something seismic happened that few fully recognized: science needed to make a distinction. It’s not about having better technology than the competition. There are several powerful, affordable and functional AI models on the market.
In 2026 I say with conviction: Retailers in AI will not be those with the best technology, but those with the best branding and distribution. This is great news for the Spanish company. This means they don’t work in research labs, but have the ability to understand customers, communicate value and reach the market. We are historically strong here. Through our experience with hundreds of customers in the region, we’ve learned that the real competitive edge in AI lies in the ability to implement quickly, not the latest model.
The year 2025 was a year of global growth in artificial intelligence, but also a year when we learned the limits of unbridled speculation. 2026 will be different. It will be the year that money flows where it should have flowed from the beginning: Get concrete solutions, clear markets and affordable returns.
It will also be the year when European regulation, rather than a brake, becomes a new era. Spanish companies that comply with the IA law will now be in a better position than those that find it a hindrance. Trust, transparency and security will become differentiating factors. We are fully committed to helping organizations manage this transition in a safe and affordable way.
2026 promises to be terrifying for speculators and spectacular for pragmatists. That’s exactly how it should be. And for those of us who have been creating practical solutions for years, this will be our moment of vindication. Europe has the opportunity not only to follow the global trend, but to lead it through practice, smart regulation and real compromise with solutions that work. That’s the vision that guides us and why we believe 2026 will be transformative for those on this list.
*** Miguel Ángel González ex vice president de Appian paragraph southern europe, patch y Middle East
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