Boston Consulting Group Released Intelligent Cities Index
The 2026 report reveals how global cities rank in AI adoption, highlighting significant progress in African markets.
Updated on Sept. 24, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Boston Consulting Group has published its 2026 Intelligent Cities Index, evaluating the AI maturity of 61 cities across 39 countries. The analysis identifies key performance leaders and spotlights high AI adoption rates in African urban centers despite underlying infrastructure challenges.
Why it matters
The index tracks how urban environments integrate artificial intelligence to improve public services and resident outcomes. It highlights how young demographics in rapidly growing cities are driving high usage of generative AI, fostering confidence that accelerates further digital service adoption.
The index evaluates cities across five specific domains: resident outcomes, intelligent city strategy, AI adoption, ways of working, and enablers. Performance metrics highlight London, Dubai, New York City, Washington DC, and Amsterdam as current leaders in these integrated fields.
The players
Boston Consulting Group
A global management consulting firm that provides strategic research and performance benchmarking for public and private sectors.
The details
The index utilizes a five-domain framework to measure how effectively cities integrate digital intelligence into public operations. A significant finding is that African cities like Casablanca are bypassing traditional infrastructure hurdles by deploying targeted AI services through existing mobile and digital channels favored by local residents. This strategy is bolstered by a young demographic, with over 50% of the population in Cairo, Casablanca, and Lagos under age 35, which correlates with higher engagement in generative AI tools.
Timeline
The Intelligent Cities Index 2026 was released on September 24, 2026.
The Tech Race
This study updates the ranking methodologies used in the Boston Consulting Group Intelligent Cities Index to include new AI-specific adoption metrics. It provides a comparative benchmark for cities like Madrid and Amsterdam that are currently competing to establish the most effective strategies for urban digital transformation.
Residents in high-ranking cities can expect an increase in AI-driven public services tailored to existing digital communication habits. The report suggests that as these cities refine their strategy and enablers, the user experience for municipal digital platforms will shift toward more proactive, automated support.
The takeaway
The 2026 index demonstrates that AI adoption is not strictly dependent on legacy infrastructure but can thrive in markets with high youth engagement. Watch for future performance data from cities classified in the developing maturity tier to see if they maintain their current adoption trajectory.
Further reading
For more on how urban centers are integrating new models, see the Artificial Intelligence section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Africa.
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