In Census Bureau survey data for the United States, AI use is concentrated in a few knowledge-based sectors: information leads at about 37 percent of firms, professional services follows at roughly 33 percent, and finance at roughly 30 percent. Wholesale trade sits at 13 percent and accommodation and food services at 8 percent. Across all American firms the rate was about 18 percent at the end of 2025.
Key takeaways
- The Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) reported about 18 percent of U.S. firms using AI at the end of 2025, with a wide spread between sectors.
- Information, professional services, and finance sit at the top; wholesale trade and accommodation and food services sit near the bottom.
- Weighting by employment lifts the all-firm figure to 32 percent, because large firms adopt more than small ones.
- Inside adopting firms, AI is usually confined to a few functions, most often sales and marketing, strategy, and IT.
- A question wording change in November 2025 means older and newer BTOS readings should not be lined up as one trend.
What the sector figures say
A Federal Reserve Board note on monitoring AI adoption, published April 3, 2026, reports BTOS results by sector. The Census Bureau draws on a panel of about 1.2 million businesses, and the four surveys leading up to year-end 2025 drew about 20,000 responses on average. The sector figures below come from that note. Some are averages of the four surveys and some are approximate readings of a chart, so small differences should not be over-read.
| Sector | Share of firms using AI | Basis in the Fed note |
|---|---|---|
| Information | 37 percent | Average of four surveys to year-end 2025 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | About 33 percent | Chart reading, among the highest |
| Finance | About 30 percent | Chart reading, among the highest |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 24 percent | Average of four surveys |
| Wholesale trade | 13 percent | Average of four surveys |
| Accommodation and food services | 8 percent | Average of four surveys |
The note does not report a manufacturing or health care level in its text, so those sectors are left out here rather than guessed.
Why the all-firm rate and the employment-weighted rate differ
A Census Bureau working paper (CES-WP-26-25, April 2026) by six Census Bureau and university economists uses the 2026 AI supplement to BTOS. It finds that about 18 percent of firms used AI in at least one business function between November 2025 and January 2026, and that the share rises to 32 percent when firms are weighted by their number of employees. Firms expected the rate to reach 22 percent within six months.
The gap exists because most U.S. firms are tiny while most jobs are at large firms. A sector can look quiet when counted by firm and busy when counted by worker. The paper also reports that very large firms in information, professional services, and finance reach roughly half to three-fifths of firms, which is far above the average. Anyone quoting a sector figure should check whether it counts firms or employees, since the two answer different questions.
What adopting firms use AI for
The working paper looks past the yes-or-no question. Most adopting firms use AI in only a few business functions. The leading ones are sales and marketing, strategy and business development, and information technology. At the level of individual tasks, writing, document analysis, and information search lead. The authors also report that most users see AI as augmenting work, and that AI-related job cuts were reported by about 2 percent of firms. Broader integration correlated with better commercial performance, though a correlation of that kind does not show that AI caused the improvement.
Limits of the numbers
The Fed note lists several reasons for care. About 10 to 11 percent of respondents answered "do not know" across the four surveys to year-end 2025. Industry codes can misplace some firms; a drug developer with an AI platform may be coded as manufacturing. Professional services is a broad group, and the data offer no breakdown inside it. Employees using AI tools without a company decision, sometimes called shadow use, may not reach the survey at all. Social desirability may also nudge some answers upward.
The largest limit is the November 2025 revision. BTOS originally asked whether a business used AI "in producing goods or services." The revised question covers "any of its business functions." A rise from one wording to the other partly reflects a wider question, not only more adoption.
Checklist for reading any "AI in industry X" claim
- Is the unit a firm, an establishment, or an employee?
- Which question was asked, and over what period?
- Is the sector a narrow industry or a broad group such as professional services?
- Does the figure measure use, plans, or mentions in earnings calls and job postings?
- Does the source describe its sample size and the share of respondents who did not know?
This article reports published survey statistics. It is not business, investment, or legal advice, and it does not recommend any product or sector.
FAQ
Which U.S. sector uses AI the most?
Information leads in the Fed note, at 37 percent of firms on average across the four surveys to year-end 2025. Professional services and finance follow at about 33 and 30 percent.
Does 18 percent mean most businesses ignore AI?
Not exactly. The figure counts firms, and most firms are very small. Weighted by employment, the working paper reports 32 percent, and 22 percent of firms expected to use AI within six months.
Are these figures comparable to Canadian survey results?
Only loosely. Statistics Canada uses a different survey, a different 12-month reference period, and different sector groupings, so the percentages should be compared as separate measures, not as one scale.
Is AI causing job cuts in the adopting firms?
The working paper reports AI-related job cuts at about 2 percent of firms. It also reports that functional breadth and operational investment were linked to employment decreases, while worker-task use showed no significant link to headcount reductions after controls. Those are associations in one survey year.
Related reading
- AI development and adoption by country
- applications of AI inside organizations
- AI and robotics across industries
- weighing the benefits and risks of AI
More in AI Basics.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Monitoring AI Adoption in the U.S. Economy, FEDS Notes, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 3, 2026
- The Microstructure of AI Diffusion: Evidence From Firms, Business Functions, and Worker Tasks, CES Working Paper 26-25, U.S. Census Bureau, April 2026 (abstract record)
- Business Trends and Outlook Survey, U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 and 2026 releases