AI Adoption Statistics by Industry: How Many Businesses Use AI in 2026?

Census data on AI adoption rates reveal that usage has increased quite a bit over the last three years.

By Lyle Daly – Updated Oct 23, 2026 at 6:51 PM EST | Fact-checked by Parker Hicks

Key Points

U.S. business AI adoption surged to 25% in 2026 from under 4% in 2023.
The information sector leads AI adoption at 46%, with professional services and finance close behind.
AI usage is highest in D.C. at 34%, with significant adoption variability across states and cities.

The Census Bureau reported that 24.6% of U.S. businesses used AI in October 2026, up from 3.7% in September 2023, when it started tracking AI adoption by industry.

The rise in AI usage isn't evenly distributed across the board -- it varies sharply across industries, business sizes, and locations, and the leaders in some of these categories have changed since March.

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U.S. business AI adoption reached 25% in October 2026, up from under 4% in 2023

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In the October 2026 Census Bureau survey, 25% of businesses reported using AI, and 29% expected to use it in the next six months. Fewer than 4% of businesses reported using AI in the Census Bureau's September 2023 survey, its first on AI adoption.

Here are more details on companies using AI nationwide:

AI adoption is steadily rising. Although the numbers fluctuate between survey periods, usage and projected usage numbers have grown significantly over the last three years.
Use cases are still somewhat narrow. The national measure of AI usage includes companies across the entire economy, including sectors with relatively few AI applications, such as agriculture, accommodation and food, and transportation. Low usage in those sectors pulls down the overall rate.

It's worth noting that the U.S. Census Bureau adjusted its survey wording in mid-2025, asking businesses whether they used AI in "any business function" rather than "to produce goods and services." The jump in AI adoption statistics around that time period, including usage and projected usage, is likely due to the change in wording.

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The information sector leads AI adoption by industry at 46%, ahead of professional services at 44%

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The information sector has the highest AI usage at 46%. This makes sense, considering companies in this sector are likely to be early adopters of new technology, and many major tech companies are also AI companies. Professional services companies are close behind at 44%, and finance ranks third at 41%.

Industries with the lowest AI adoption are agriculture (6%), accommodation and food (11%), and transportation (14%).

Service-producing sectors generally have higher AI adoption rates than sectors that produce goods. However, adoption rates for the latter have been trending up over the last year.

In particular, there's growing use of AI in manufacturing. It's one of the top 10 sectors for AI usage, with 23% of companies in this sector having adopted AI.

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The gap in AI usage among the biggest and smallest firms remains large

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AI adoption is strongly correlated with business size. Businesses with 250 or more employees lead, with an AI usage rate of 44%. Next is businesses with 100 to 249 employees, at 35%.

Among firms with fewer than 100 employees, less than 30% use AI.

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DC leads state AI adoption at 34%, ahead of Utah at 32%

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Washington, D.C., has the highest AI adoption rate at 34%, followed by Utah and Colorado, both at 32%. The metro area with the highest AI usage is Denver at 37%, followed by Phoenix (36%) and the Washington, D.C. metro area (35%).

The bottom states/territories in terms of how many people use AI are West Virginia (10%), Idaho (14%), and Wyoming (14%). The metro areas with the lowest AI usage are Riverside-San Bernardino (18%), St. Louis (19%), and New York-Newark (20%).

Geographic rankings of AI usage change frequently, although some areas have maintained their positions or been in the same range. Washington D.C. was No. 1 in March, but Delaware ranked second. Phoenix was the top metro area in March, followed by Denver in second and Portland in third.

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Writing and editing are the dominant AI tasks -- 84%–92% of employees using generative AI apply it to documents and communications

Businesses have widely adopted AI in their written content, with an estimated 84% to 92% using it for writing and editing. Usage varies for other tasks:

Searching and summarizing are also popular uses of AI. Between 48% and 57% of businesses use AI to search for information. Another 43%-60% use it to interpret and summarize documents.
The next wave could be sales, marketing, and business development. Among firms planning to adopt AI, 54% to 68% plan to use it for sales and marketing, and 53% to 59% for strategy and business development.
AI hasn't caught on for the production of goods or distribution. Usage rates for both were under 9%.

Perhaps surprisingly, only a small portion of businesses (10% to 17%) use AI for coding.

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63% of non-adopters say AI simply doesn't apply to their business -- cost ranks last among major barriers

AI adoption is primarily a matter of relevance, not cost. The barriers cited by non-adopters make that clear:

The majority believed AI didn't apply to their business. Between 42% and 63% of non-adopters cited this reason, with the exact percentage depending on business size.
About 1 in 5 mentioned lack of knowledge or security concerns. Approximately 21% of non-adopters cited a lack of knowledge about AI capabilities, and approximately 20% cited privacy or security concerns.
Cost wasn't a major obstacle for most business owners. Only about 7% of non-adopters considered cost one of their AI adoption challenges. Costs are also dropping, thanks to AI infrastructure investments. The cost of AI models decreased by 95% from 2023 to 2026, according to research from Goldman Sachs (GS -1.75%).

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AI adoption continues to accelerate

More and more U.S. businesses report using AI, but growth isn't evenly distributed across industries and geographic areas. Certain sectors have picked up the pace with AI adoption, and so have the largest businesses. The states and metro areas leading in AI usage have also changed multiple times since the Census Bureau started tracking this data.

The AI industry itself is fast-moving. Shifting trends with AI business adoption provide insight into where the industry is going, making them worth monitoring for investors, particularly those with a sizable allocation to companies involved in the AI build-out, including semiconductor stocks, memory companies, and hyperscalers.

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About the Author

Lyle Daly is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering information technology and cryptocurrency. Lyle has been a contributor at the financial services company since 2018. His work has been featured on USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, Fox Business, and Nasdaq. Before joining The Motley Fool, he wrote for financial brands including Intuit.

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@LyleDaly

Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

AI Adoption Statistics by Industry: How Many Businesses Use AI in 2026?

Census data on AI adoption rates reveal that usage has increased quite a bit over the last three years.

Key Points

U.S. business AI adoption reached 25% in October 2026, up from under 4% in 2023

The information sector leads AI adoption by industry at 46%, ahead of professional services at 44%

The gap in AI usage among the biggest and smallest firms remains large

DC leads state AI adoption at 34%, ahead of Utah at 32%

Writing and editing are the dominant AI tasks -- 84%–92% of employees using generative AI apply it to documents and communications

63% of non-adopters say AI simply doesn't apply to their business -- cost ranks last among major barriers

AI adoption continues to accelerate

About the Author

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U.S. business AI adoption reached 25% in October 2026, up from under 4% in 2023

The information sector leads AI adoption by industry at 46%, ahead of professional services at 44%

The gap in AI usage among the biggest and smallest firms remains large

DC leads state AI adoption at 34%, ahead of Utah at 32%

Writing and editing are the dominant AI tasks -- 84%–92% of employees using generative AI apply it to documents and communications

AI adoption continues to accelerate

63% of non-adopters say AI simply doesn't apply to their business -- cost ranks last among major barriers