Most rural broadband providers expect AI to change how they operate, even as the majority remain in the early stages of using it, according to Telecompetitor’s 2026 Rural Broadband State of AI study. Of the 132 providers surveyed, 91% said they anticipate a significant impact on both their own companies and the wider industry.
That expectation has not yet translated into deep adoption, and the findings suggest that many providers are not as far behind as they might feel. Nearly half of respondents described their AI use as limited or informal, while about half said they are experimenting with the technology. Only 1% reported integrating AI into core systems or workflows, indicating the bar most providers measure themselves against is lower than they probably think.
Strategy remains a gap as well. Our study found that 82% of providers have no defined or formal AI plan, and only 4% have a formal AI strategy tied to business priorities. Most providers acknowledged they need a strategy even if they have not built one, and the data showed smaller operators were the least likely to have a roadmap in place, in part because writing and owning a strategy requires time and staff that lean teams may lack.
Where providers have deployed AI, the use cases have tended to stay close to the back office. Internal knowledge base searches led the list of AI-implemented efforts at 43%, followed by targeted marketing at 39%. Providers were most heavily evaluating cyber threat detection and network monitoring, while only exploring customer-facing applications such as chatbots and call quality assurance.
The study found that a lack of internal skills or confidence using AI tools was the top challenge, cited by 68% of providers, followed by uncertainty about AI vendors and solutions at 53%.
The findings here represent a portion of the full study, which also examines where providers expect AI to deliver the most value, how they view vendor partnerships, and what steps their peers recommend for building momentum. The complete report, sponsored by Innovative Systems, distills responses from companies serving fewer than 5,000 to more than 20,000 residential subscribers. More information on how to access the report will be available soon.
In May, Telecompetitor spoke with Innovative Systems CEO Scott Alcott, who offered his framework for agentic AI and suggested that company leaders should drive broadband providers’ use of AI.
