New Delhi, Oct. 8 -- Developing countries can secure the biggest benefits from Artificial Intelligence (AI) by adapting existing tools to local needs rather than spending billions of dollars on building advanced systems from scratch, says the World Bank's World Development Report 2026.

The report urged governments to focus on affordable AI applications, strengthen infrastructure and skills, and expand solutions that demonstrate results in public services.

"Adapting AI tools to local contexts, without spending billions of dollars creating advanced AI systems from scratch, will deliver the biggest benefits," it said.

Highlighting an example from India, the report said AI-supported weather forecasts reached more than 30 million farmers, p...