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U.S. Census Bureau · May 2026

Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users (America Counts story, Business Trends and Outlook Survey)

U.S. Census Bureau's Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users (America Counts story, Business Trends and Outlook Survey) (May 2026; n=Biweekly nationally representative BTOS panel (~1.2M firms sampled; ~20,000 responses per wave per Fed note), fielded Dec 14, 2025 – May 3, 2026) found that 17–20% of US businesses used AI in any business function, Dec 2025–May 2026.

Read the original report ↗Cite2 min read · Summary updated
Larger firms are the heaviest AI usersPercent of businesses using AI in the past two weeks, period ending May 3, 2026
250+ employees
37%
100–249 employees
32%
All businesses
19.8%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (America Counts story), 2026, Figure 2.

Key findings

  1. 01
    37% of firms with 250+ employees and 32% of firms with 100–249 employees reported using AI.
  2. 02
    AI use rose among firms with at least 20 employees since December but did not change significantly for firms under 20.
  3. 03
    In November 2025 the question changed from AI use 'in producing goods or services' to use 'in any business function,' raising measured rates.

By the numbers

17–20%of US businesses used AI in any business function, Dec 2025–May 2026
37%of firms with 250 or more employees reported using AI
39.7%of Information-sector businesses used AI, the highest sector cited (May 3, 2026)
AI use by sectorPercent of businesses using AI in the past two weeks, period ending May 3, 2026
Information
39.7%
Finance and insurance
33.9%
All businesses
19.8%
Retail trade
~14%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (America Counts story), 2026, Figure 3.

What it means for you Draft

For executives at $10–100M companies

This is probably the most reliable view of where firms our size sit: roughly a third of companies with 100–249 employees report using AI in some function. That means most peers are not using it at all yet, and those who are may be doing so lightly. Earlier and later Census figures are not directly comparable because the question changed.

Limitations

High trust.Large, nationally representative federal survey; method and question change disclosed. Self-reported, any-use definition. Publisher does not sell AI.

The headline figure measures the “Tried it” stage of adoption (any use of ai).Why adoption numbers disagree

Cite the original

U.S. Census Bureau. "Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users (America Counts story, Business Trends and Outlook Survey)." May 26, 2026. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2026/05/ai-use-businesses.html

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