About 17–20% of U.S. businesses used AI in the past two weeks, Dec. 2025–May 2026 (Census Bureau)
Verified Confidence: high
Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.
- Commonly cited as
- "What percent of US businesses use AI?" / "Census: how many companies use AI"
- True origin
- U.S. Census Bureau — Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users (May 2026)
- Type
- Reference fact: A frequently needed number or rule taken directly from a primary source (e.g. Pew, Census, IAB/PwC, FTC), with its as-of date.
- Year
- 2026
- Data as of
- BTOS data Dec. 14, 2025–May 3, 2026; question wording revised Nov. 2025. Census publishes new BTOS readings every two weeks.
- Last checked
- What the source says
The BTOS data (December 2025 to May 2026) show that overall AI usage hovered between 17% and 20% — and that between 20% and 23% of businesses expected to be using it in the next six months.
- Method & sample
- Business Trends and Outlook Survey, which Census describes as a biweekly, nationally representative view of AI use across U.S. businesses; asks whether the business used AI 'in any business function' in the past two weeks.
- Drift between quote and source
- Unit: share of firms (most are small), not share of employees; large firms report much higher use (37% at 250+ employees)
- Wording changed in Nov. 2025, so older readings are not comparable
- Interest
- n/a (federal statistical agency).
Safe rephrasing
The Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey found 17–20% of U.S. businesses used AI in the prior two weeks between December 2025 and May 2026; check census.gov for the latest biweekly reading.
Sources we opened
Machine-readable: /api/claims/census-btos-us-firms-using-ai-17-20-percent.json · Last checked 2026-10-16