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Analysis 06 of 10Data

Where is AI adoption growing fastest?

Which industries and company sizes are adopting AI fastest, and where is the gap between current and planned use biggest?

The short answer On the reworded Census question, 23.8% of US businesses used AI in the cycle collected Sep 7 to 20, 2026, up from 17.3% in late November 2025. On the original question, use rose from 3.7% in September 2023 to 10.0% in October 2025, 2.7 times in two years. Sales and marketing is the top function (14.3% of all businesses), information and professional services the top sectors, and Los Angeles tracks the national curve.

  • Public data, not my business
  • Question reworded Nov 2025: two separate series
  • Experimental survey estimates
Source
Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), AI Core Questions and AI Supplement, U.S. Census Bureau
Period
Sep 2023 to Sep 2026
Licence
U.S. Government data; no separate license stated
Charts
5, each with its data table and CSV
Data file
data/ai.json

Key figures

  • 23.8%AI use now, any functionof all US businesses used AI in the last two weeks (reworded core question; cycle collected Sep 7 to 20, 2026)
  • Sales & marketingTop AI function today14.3% of all businesses use AI there, highest of 15 functions (2026 AI supplement)
  • 2.7xAI use growth since 20233.7% (Sep 2023) to 10.0% (Oct 2025) of businesses using AI to produce goods or services
  • 10.2%LA metro AI usevs 10.0% nationally, same question, Oct 2025

The charts

Chart 1Lead chart · trend

AI use keeps climbing, on both versions of the question.

How fast is AI use growing among US businesses?

Original question (to Oct 2025): use rose from 3.7% to 10.0%, planned use from 6.3% to 14.0%. Census reworded it in Nov 2025 ('any of its business functions'), so the reworded series (17.3% to 23.8% now, 21.1% to 27.6% planned) is drawn on its own and does not continue the first line.
Download CSV

Census BTOS · public data, not my business

National trend: 76 rows. national_trend in ai.json. The two wordings are separate columns and are never joined; a blank cell means that wording was not asked in that cycle.
Period endUsing AI, original question (%)Planning AI, original question (%)Using AI, reworded question (%)Planning AI, reworded question (%)
2023-09-243.76.3
2023-10-083.76.3
2023-10-223.86.5
2023-11-053.96.5
2023-11-194.46.9
2023-12-034.67.3
2023-12-174.96.5
2023-12-314.96.7
2024-01-144.66.4
2024-01-285.36.5
2024-02-1156.6
2024-02-255.46.6
2024-03-104.36.4
2024-03-244.46.7
2024-04-074.26.6
2024-04-214.86.8
2024-05-054.77
2024-05-194.86.9
2024-06-024.66.6
2024-06-1656.8
2024-06-304.76.9
2024-07-1456.9
2024-07-285.17.2
2024-08-115.17
2024-08-255.58.1
2024-09-085.78.5
2024-09-225.98.7
2024-10-0669.1
2024-10-2069
2024-11-0369.3
2024-11-176.18.7
2024-12-016.18.9
2024-12-156.18.8
2024-12-296.39.2
2025-01-1269.5
2025-01-266.79.4
2025-02-096.89.3
2025-02-237.39.8
2025-03-097.49.9
2025-03-237.810.5
2025-04-06810.5
2025-04-208.310.9
2025-05-048.711
2025-05-188.711
2025-06-019.211.6
2025-06-159.211.6
2025-06-299.311.7
2025-07-139.312.3
2025-07-279.413.5
2025-08-108.813
2025-08-249.713.7
2025-09-079.113.8
2025-09-219.914
2025-10-051014
2025-11-3017.321.1
2025-12-1417.220.9
2025-12-2817.821.3
2026-01-1117.722.4
2026-01-2518.222.1
2026-02-0818.922.1
2026-02-2217.521
2026-03-0818.221.8
2026-03-2218.922.3
2026-04-0519.122.5
2026-04-1919.823
2026-05-0319.822.8
2026-05-1719.522.7
2026-05-3120.623.7
2026-06-1420.623.9
2026-06-2820.623.7
2026-07-1221.724.5
2026-07-2621.524.3
2026-08-0921.825.9
2026-08-2322.425.9
2026-09-0623.227.3
2026-09-2023.827.6

Chart 2Ranking

Sales and marketing is the top function for AI today.

Where in the business is AI used?

Share of all US businesses using AI in each function, 2026 AI supplement (collected Nov 17, 2025 to Feb 8, 2026). Sales and marketing leads at 14.3%, the highest of 15 functions.
Download CSV

Census BTOS · public data, not my business

By function: 12 rows. function_gap in ai.json, metric Current use (universe: all businesses). The four smallest functions are averaged into one row.
Business functionShare of all businesses using AI there (%)
Sales & marketing14.3
Strategy & business development12.4
Information technology11.4
Research & development11.2
PR & communication9.3
Management & administration8.1
Customer service7.6
Legal & compliance7.1
Finance & accounting6.6
Provision of services/products6.4
Human resources4.2
Other functions (avg of 4)2

Chart 3Breakdown by segment

Information and professional services lead; wholesale has the biggest gap.

Which sectors use AI most, and where is planned use furthest ahead?

Wholesale trade has the biggest gap between planned and current use, 6.4 points, off a lower base (13.6% now, 20.0% planned). Both measures are shares of all businesses in each sector.
Download CSV

Census BTOS · public data, not my business

By sector: 12 rows. sector_gap in ai.json; both measures are shares of all businesses in the sector, so the gap is computed on this page as planned minus now.
SectorUsing AI now (%)Planning AI in 6 months (%)Gap (points)
Information37.6435.4
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services34.237.53.3
Educational Services30.735.34.6
Finance & Insurance30.434.13.7
Real Estate & Rental & Leasing23.526.63.1
Management of Companies20.926.45.5
Health Care & Social Assistance20.724.94.2
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation17.521.74.2
Wholesale Trade13.6206.4
Admin & Support & Waste Mgmt16.619.93.3
Manufacturing12.417.45
Other sectors (avg of 8)9.2122.8

Chart 4Breakdown by place

Los Angeles tracks the national curve.

Is the Los Angeles metro ahead of or behind the country?

LA minus US ranged from -1.3 to 1.9 points on the original question and from -2.0 to 1.7 points on the reworded one (latest cycle 25.5% against 23.8%). The two wordings are drawn separately.
Download CSV

Census BTOS · public data, not my business

Los Angeles: 76 rows. la_vs_us in ai.json. The two wordings are separate columns and are never joined.
Period endLA metro, original (%)US, original (%)LA metro, reworded (%)US, reworded (%)
2023-09-244.53.7
2023-10-084.33.7
2023-10-224.73.8
2023-11-054.93.9
2023-11-194.84.4
2023-12-035.64.6
2023-12-1754.9
2023-12-315.74.9
2024-01-1464.6
2024-01-286.35.3
2024-02-115.35
2024-02-255.95.4
2024-03-105.54.3
2024-03-2444.4
2024-04-074.94.2
2024-04-215.64.8
2024-05-055.64.7
2024-05-1964.8
2024-06-026.24.6
2024-06-164.55
2024-06-305.94.7
2024-07-1465
2024-07-286.15.1
2024-08-116.35.1
2024-08-255.95.5
2024-09-087.25.7
2024-09-227.15.9
2024-10-0676
2024-10-207.96
2024-11-037.36
2024-11-176.26.1
2024-12-017.36.1
2024-12-155.76.1
2024-12-296.36.3
2025-01-126.56
2025-01-266.46.7
2025-02-096.66.8
2025-02-238.27.3
2025-03-098.27.4
2025-03-238.97.8
2025-04-068.38
2025-04-20108.3
2025-05-049.18.7
2025-05-189.18.7
2025-06-017.99.2
2025-06-158.89.2
2025-06-2910.29.3
2025-07-139.59.3
2025-07-2710.39.4
2025-08-109.18.8
2025-08-249.79.7
2025-09-078.89.1
2025-09-219.19.9
2025-10-0510.210
2025-11-3017.917.3
2025-12-1415.917.2
2025-12-2816.617.8
2026-01-111717.7
2026-01-2516.818.2
2026-02-0819.518.9
2026-02-2218.517.5
2026-03-0818.118.2
2026-03-2219.418.9
2026-04-0520.119.1
2026-04-1918.519.8
2026-05-0319.319.8
2026-05-1718.119.5
2026-05-3120.220.6
2026-06-1420.720.6
2026-06-2820.120.6
2026-07-1219.721.7
2026-07-2620.521.5
2026-08-0921.521.8
2026-08-2321.222.4
2026-09-062323.2
2026-09-2025.523.8

Chart 5Ranking, a different base

Among businesses planning AI, 62.8% expect to use it in sales and marketing.

Where do businesses that are planning AI expect to use it?

These shares are of businesses already planning to adopt AI in the next 6 months (21.6% of all businesses), not of all businesses, so they cannot be compared with chart 2 as a gap.
Download CSV

Census BTOS · public data, not my business

What planners expect: 12 rows. function_gap in ai.json, metric Planned use (6 mo) (universe: businesses already planning to adopt AI).
Business functionShare of AI planners expecting to use it there (%)
Sales & marketing62.8
Strategy & business development57.4
Research & development48.3
Information technology47.3
PR & communication43.8
Customer service40
Management & administration38.2
Finance & accounting36.5
Provision of services/products32.4
Legal & compliance32.3
Human resources21.6
Other functions (avg of 4)11.8

01Findings

What the charts say.

  1. Use rose on both wordings: 3.7% to 10.0% on the original question (Sep 2023 to Oct 2025) and 17.3% to 23.8% on the reworded one (Nov 2025 to Sep 2026). They are different questions and are not joined.

    Chart 1

  2. Sales and marketing is the top function, at 14.3% of all businesses, and the top expected function among AI planners, at 62.8%.

    Chart 2 Chart 5

  3. Information (37.6%), professional services (34.2%), education (30.7%) and finance (30.4%) lead; wholesale trade has the biggest planned gap, 6.4 points.

    Chart 3

  4. The Los Angeles metro moves with the country: 25.5% against 23.8% in the latest cycle.

    Chart 4

02Method

How the figures were built.

Steps

  1. Converted wide period columns (one column per 2-week collection cycle) into tidy long rows with period_start/period_end dates.
  2. Parsed percentage strings to numbers and mapped disclosure-suppressed cells ('S') to null.
  3. Combined three BTOS vintages: the original 2023-2025 Core Questions series and the reworded Nov 2025 to Sep 2026 core series (both national and metro trend), and the 2026 AI Supplement snapshot (collected Nov 17, 2025 to Feb 8, 2026; function, sector, and company-size detail), tagged by source_vintage since question wording differs between them (the original and reworded core series are never joined).
  4. Captured each Supplement estimate's official 'scope' from the Data Dictionary (1=all businesses, 5=businesses already planning AI, 6=businesses not planning AI, etc.) so only same-scope estimates are compared as current-vs-planned or ranked together; the by-function planned-use question (Q12) is scoped to AI planners only, not all businesses, so it is reported as its own ranking rather than a 'gap' against current use.
  5. Mapped 2-digit NAICS sector codes to standard sector titles and employment-size letter codes (A-G) to readable bands.
  6. Grouped the smallest sectors and business functions (beyond the top 11 in each ranking) into an 'Other' average category to keep charts readable.

13,396 source rows, 12,170 used. Every derived figure on this page (changes, indexes, averages, counts) is computed from the published rows, and the table under each chart says how.

Checks

  • Current and planned use are compared only within the same Census scope (universe), checked by assertions in the prep script; the function ranking for planners has a different scope and is shown on its own.
  • The supplement's 17.9% (pooled Nov 17, 2025 to Feb 8, 2026) sits inside the reworded series' range for the same cycles (17.2% to 18.9%).
  • Each table on this page is the published chart data in ai.json, shown row for row.

The queries

The query runs on the table btos_ai (12,170 rows). Open it in Live SQL, which runs DuckDB in your browser on the same public tables; the query loads ready to run.

Sector gap, planned minus now

Open in Live SQL 
SELECT sector, round(v_planned.estimate_pct - v_now.estimate_pct, 1) AS gap_pp, v_now.estimate_pct AS now_pct, v_planned.estimate_pct AS planned_pct FROM (SELECT sector, estimate_pct FROM btos_ai WHERE question='ai_use_now' AND sector IS NOT NULL AND answer='Yes') v_now JOIN (SELECT sector, estimate_pct FROM btos_ai WHERE question='ai_use_planned_6mo' AND sector IS NOT NULL AND answer='Yes') v_planned USING (sector) ORDER BY gap_pp DESC LIMIT 5

AI use by company size, current vs planned

Open in Live SQL 
SELECT size_class, question, estimate_pct FROM btos_ai WHERE source_vintage='supplement_2026' AND size_class IS NOT NULL AND question IN ('ai_use_now','ai_use_planned_6mo') AND answer='Yes' ORDER BY size_class, question

Top reasons businesses are not planning to use AI

Open in Live SQL 
SELECT answer, estimate_pct FROM btos_ai WHERE question='not_planning_reason' AND sector IS NULL AND size_class IS NULL ORDER BY estimate_pct DESC LIMIT 10

National AI use rate, last 6 collection periods

Open in Live SQL 
SELECT CAST(period_end AS VARCHAR) AS period_end, source_vintage, estimate_pct FROM btos_ai WHERE source_vintage='core_2025_2026' AND geography='United States' AND question='ai_use_now' AND answer='Yes' ORDER BY period_end DESC LIMIT 6

Caveats

  • Estimates are survey-weighted shares of businesses (not employees or revenue), from an experimental Census data product with sampling error, and small cells are suppressed for disclosure. Census asked three versions of the AI-use question: the original core question ('in producing goods or services', through Oct 2025: 3.7% to 10.0%), the reworded core question ('in any of its business functions', from Nov 2025: 17.3% to 23.8% by Sep 2026) and the 2026 AI supplement (same 'any business function' wording, pooled over Nov 17, 2025 to Feb 8, 2026: 17.9%). The original and reworded series are different questions and are never joined into one trend; the supplement's 17.9% sits inside the reworded series' range for the same cycles (17.2% to 18.9%).

Releases and revisions

  • Data as of September 22, 2026. Census adds a new two-week cycle about every two weeks; this page shows the cycles published by then.

03Sources

Sources and licence.

Licence: U.S. Government data; no separate license stated. Public data, not my business.

Download the chart data

Each CSV is made in your browser from the rows in that chart's table.

All ten analyses on the Dashboard

04Contact

Want this kind of breakdown on your own data?

Open to e-commerce, data and operations roles. Los Angeles or remote.

zacharybhenley@gmail.com Book a 30-minute call