Seoul Ranks 3rd Globally in UK Observer's 2026 AI City Index, 1st in Adoption
Seoul has secured 3rd place overall in the Observer's 2026 AI City Index, trailing only San Francisco and New York, while ranking 1st worldwide in public and pr
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Seoul has claimed 3rd place overall in global urban artificial intelligence competitiveness, standing out particularly for its world-leading capabilities in practical AI adoption and utilization. The findings were released in the '2026 AI City Index' published by the UK newspaper The Observer.
The 2026 AI City Index and Seoul's Standing
The Observer introduced the AI City Index this year, drawing upon the evaluation methodology of Tortoise Media, which has published global AI indices since 2019. Evaluating 57 cities across 36 countries based on 50 indicators across three pillars—investment, innovation, and adoption/utilization—Seoul placed 3rd behind San Francisco and New York.
This puts Seoul ahead of major global cities such as Beijing (4th), Paris (5th), and London (6th), demonstrating that its overall urban AI competitiveness stands at the very top tier globally.
1st Worldwide in AI Adoption and Utilization
Among the evaluated categories, Seoul achieved 1st place globally in the 'AI Adoption and Utilization' sector, reflecting its strength in practical deployment rather than theoretical potential alone.
The Observer highlighted institutional foundations facilitating public-sector AI expansion and industry-academia cooperation systems supporting small and medium-sized enterprises as core strengths. Government-led investments and the regional semiconductor industrial ecosystem were also cited as vital backdrops underpinning Seoul's competitiveness.
Municipal Policies and Ongoing Initiatives
To build upon this momentum, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is pursuing initiatives to train 10,000 AI professionals annually and establish a 500 billion KRW AI fund.
The city has established 61 AI administrative project frameworks, integrating artificial intelligence into everyday public services such as autonomous bus operations, vulnerable-group care services, and urban flood risk prediction.