Census Bureau AI survey: 19.8% of US businesses use AI
The Census Bureau AI survey, published on May 26, 2026, found that 19.8% of U.S. businesses used AI as of May 3, 2026, with use concentrated in larger firms and in two sectors: Information at 39.7% and Finance and Insurance at 33.9%. Retail trailed at around 14%. For companies weighing AI, the data give a hard benchmark: where their own sector and size class stand, and where adoption is still growing.
Why a benchmark for AI adoption matters
Most companies deciding how hard to push AI have no reliable way to compare themselves with their peers. Vendor surveys tend to count enthusiasm. The Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey, known as BTOS, counts use: it asks a nationally representative sample of U.S. businesses every two weeks whether they used AI in the past two weeks and whether they expect to use it in the next six months.
In a report published on May 26, 2026, Census statisticians Adam Grundy, Cory Breaux and Dhanapati Khatiwoda reviewed six months of those answers, collected from December 14, 2025 to May 3, 2026.
How the Census Bureau survey counts AI use
The question changed in November 2025, and the change matters when reading the numbers. The survey originally asked about AI use "in producing goods or services," which left out simple tasks such as drafting emails. The Census Bureau revised the wording to ask whether a business used AI "in any business function."
On November 17, 2025, BTOS also began collecting data for its second AI supplement. It measures AI use across 15 business functions, including finance, human resources, customer service, marketing, information technology and research and development. It also asks about the changes AI brings, such as training, workflow adjustments and new technology investments, and why a business is not using AI at all.
How many U.S. businesses use AI
About one in five. Across the six months, overall AI use hovered between 17% and 20%, and as of May 3, 2026, the national rate stood at 19.8%. Between 20% and 23% of businesses said they expected to be using AI in the next six months. The Census Bureau describes use as having grown since December, but the overall level stayed in a narrow band.
Which firms use AI most, by size
Size is the clearest dividing line. In the period ending May 3, 2026, 37% of firms with at least 250 employees reported using AI in their operations, and 32% of firms with 100 to 249 employees did. Between December 2025 and May 2026, AI use rose among firms with at least 20 employees but did not change significantly among firms with fewer than 20. Fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees reported using AI.
Which industries lead and which lag
Two sectors stand well above the national rate. AI use reached 39.7% in Information and 33.9% in Finance and Insurance, against 19.8% nationally. About 42% of Information businesses and roughly 39% in Finance and Insurance expect to use AI over the next six months. Neither sector showed a statistically significant shift since December.
Retail Trade sits below the average: around 14% of retailers use AI now, and about 17% expect to within six months.
What the numbers mean for business AI adoption plans
For a business owner, the figures give a realistic reference point. A bank or insurer where AI is still a pilot is now behind roughly a third of its sector. A retailer that already uses AI in customer service or marketing is ahead of most of its peers, since only about 14% of retail businesses report any use. And a small firm that has not started is in the majority: adoption among the smallest companies has not moved since December.
The gap by size also points to where vendors and service providers will find demand next. Firms with 20 or more employees are the ones adding AI, while the smallest firms are holding still. The coming function-level data should show which tasks, from customer service to finance, are being handed to AI first.
Questions and answers
What percentage of U.S. businesses use AI?
As of May 3, 2026, 19.8% of U.S. businesses reported using AI in the past two weeks, according to the Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey. Between December 2025 and May 2026, the rate stayed between 17% and 20%.
Which industry uses AI the most?
The Information sector, at 39.7%, followed by Finance and Insurance at 33.9%. Retail Trade is below the national average at around 14%.
Do large companies use AI more than small ones?
Yes. 37% of firms with at least 250 employees use AI, compared with fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees. Use grew among firms with at least 20 employees and stayed flat among smaller ones.
MOZGII view
How we would build it
Survey numbers like these tell a company where its peers are, not what to do next. If we were a mid-sized insurer or retailer reading them, we would start with the task, not the tool: one function where staff spend hours on repeat work, such as answering policy or order questions, sorting incoming documents or drafting replies.
The system for that task needs three things. It needs the company's own records, such as past tickets, policies and product data, so answers match the business and not a generic model. It needs a person who reviews a sample of the AI's work every week and marks what was wrong. And it needs a clear line for what the AI may do alone and what goes to a human. Most early projects break at that line: the tool handles easy cases well, but no one decided who owns the hard ones, so they wait.
The one metric we would watch is the share of tasks finished without a person redoing the work. Hours saved look good on a slide, but rework hides inside them.
Next, we would add a second function only after the first one runs for a full quarter with stable quality. The Census data show that adoption moves slowly even in leading sectors, which favors steady, measured steps over a broad rollout.
Sources
Where the facts in this story come from.