Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis · May 2026

AI adoption in business grows steadily but unevenly

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis's AI adoption in business grows steadily but unevenly (May 2026; fielded Sep 2023 – early 2026 (BTOS waves)) found that ~20% of Minnesota businesses use AI, the highest in the Ninth District (district ~18%).

Read the original report ↗Cite2 min read · Summary updated September 2026

Minnesota leads Ninth District states in business AI usePercent of businesses using AI in any business function, average Dec 2025 to Apr 2026

Minnesota

19.9%

Montana

18.4%

South Dakota

17.0%

North Dakota

13.7%

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, AI adoption in business grows steadily but unevenly, 2026 (Census BTOS data), Figure 2.

Key findings

01
Nationally, AI use in producing goods or services was about 10% in late 2025; under the broader question it reached 20% in early 2026.
02
About 30% of US firms with 250+ employees use AI versus 17% of firms with fewer than 20 employees.
03
About 96% of AI-using firms reported no change in employment; 10% said AI now performs tasks previously done by employees.

By the numbers

~20%of Minnesota businesses use AI, the highest in the Ninth District (district ~18%)

30%of US firms with 250+ employees use AI, versus 17% of firms with fewer than 20

~96%of AI-using firms reported no change in total employment over the prior six months

Most businesses not using AI say it does not apply to themPercent of US businesses not using AI citing each reason, multiple responses allowed (BTOS AI supplement, April 2026)

AI is not applicable to this business

62%

Lack of knowledge on AI's capabilities

22%

Concerns about privacy/security

21%

AI not mature enough yet

13%

Concerns about bias

Lack of skilled workforce

Too expensive

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, AI adoption in business grows steadily but unevenly, 2026 (Census BTOS data), Figure 5.

What it means for you Draft

For executives at $10–100M companies

Minnesota is a little ahead of its neighbors, but four out of five businesses here still report no AI use. For a Twin Cities firm, that suggests the realistic benchmark is careful, task-level experimentation, not wholesale change. The near-absence of job changes so far also argues for framing AI internally as help with tasks rather than headcount.

Limitations

High trust.Regional Fed analysis of federal survey data; clear sourcing. State-level estimates rest on smaller subsamples. 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

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "AI adoption in business grows steadily but unevenly." May 29, 2026. https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2026/ai-adoption-in-business-grows-steadily-but-unevenly