Türkiye's AI Action Plan 2026–2030: What It Means for Companies

Türkiye's new roadmap for artificial intelligence came into force with Presidential Circular No. 2026/9, published in the Official Gazette on 18 August 2026. The "Türkiye AI Action Plan (2026–2030)" succeeds the National AI Strategy for 2021–2025 and is coordinated by the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

So what does the plan mean for companies? The short answer: it creates no direct obligations today, but it shows the direction of the rules that will shape how you use AI in the coming years.

What does the plan aim to achieve?

According to the circular, the Action Plan rests on the principles of human-centricity, trustworthiness, ethical responsibility, digital sovereignty and sustainable development, and is built around four pillars: "Recognise, Benefit, Produce and Govern". Its key themes are:

• Raising AI awareness and developing skilled talent
• Strengthening data and computing infrastructure
• Expanding AI adoption in the public and private sectors
• Building a trustworthy, internationally competitive AI ecosystem

Targets reported in the press include AI training for 5 million people, 10,000 advanced specialists, at least 2,000 open public datasets and at least 1 gigawatt of data centre capacity by 2030.

Is this a law?

No. The Action Plan is a circular addressed primarily to public institutions. It imposes no direct obligations or sanctions on companies. It will, however, affect them indirectly in three ways:

1. Public procurement: Expectations around trustworthiness, transparency and documentation in public-sector AI projects will rise. Companies selling to the public sector will need to meet them.
2. Sector regulation: Regulators in regulated industries, finance first among them, are expected to take steps aligned with the plan. According to industry sources, Türkiye's banking regulator BDDK is working on AI rules covering model risk, validation and human oversight; no official draft has been published yet.
3. Legislation: Several AI bills are pending in the Turkish parliament. The Action Plan will largely shape the framework of any future law.

According to legal analyses of the plan, it also takes a risk-tiered approach to AI systems. Areas such as credit assessment, recruitment and biometric identification are treated as high-impact. This closely mirrors the risk-based logic of the EU AI Act.

How does it relate to the EU AI Act?

For Turkish companies offering products or services in the EU, the binding framework remains the EU AI Act. Amendments adopted in July 2026 postponed the main obligations for high-risk areas such as creditworthiness assessment and recruitment to 2 December 2027. Provisions on prohibited practices and AI literacy, however, already apply.

Because Türkiye's plan and the EU AI Act point in the same direction, steps you take today to comply with the EU rules are likely to make compliance with future Turkish rules easier.

What should companies do now?

Acting before there is an obligation may seem premature. But with AI use spreading fast, these steps reduce risk even before regulation arrives:

1. Build an AI inventory. List which AI systems are used in your organisation, for what purpose and with what data. Don't forget tools employees use on their own (shadow AI).
2. Classify by risk. Flag systems that affect credit, hiring and customer decisions. These will be regulated first.
3. Write a usage policy. Clarify which tools may be used with which data. The Turkish data protection authority's guide on generative AI and personal data, published in November 2025, is a good starting point.
4. Invest in AI literacy. Training is one of the plan's most concrete goals. A short awareness programme for all employees and a strategy-focused programme for managers both reduce risk and help you get real value from AI.
5. Assign ownership of governance. Decide who is responsible for AI use and how new tools get approved.
6. Review supplier contracts. Make sure contracts state where AI services process your data and whether they use it to train their models.

Conclusion

Türkiye's AI Action Plan doesn't send companies a bill today, but its direction is clear: AI use that is trustworthy, auditable and backed by skilled people. Companies that align with this direction now won't be caught unprepared when regulation arrives, and will move faster and with more confidence than their competitors.

If you would like to build your AI inventory, risk classification and usage policy together, or plan AI literacy training for your employees, get in touch with us.

Sources

• Official Gazette, 18 August 2026, Issue 33344 – Circular No. 2026/9 (Turkish)
• Banks Association of Türkiye – Circular announcement (Turkish)
• Anadolu Agency – Action Plan news (Turkish)
• Vircon Legal – What the Action Plan means for companies (Turkish)
• BD Türkiye – AI regulation in banking (Turkish)
• Anadolu Agency – Data protection authority's generative AI guide (Turkish)
• Future of Privacy Forum – EU AI Act implementation timeline