Sales and marketing is the business function where AI-using firms most often use AI (52%) (Census working paper, 2026)
Verified Confidence: high
Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.
- Commonly cited as
- "Marketing is the #1 use of AI in business"
- True origin
- U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies — The Microstructure of AI Diffusion: Evidence From Firms, Business Functions, and Worker Tasks (CES-WP-26-25, 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 AI supplement, reference period Nov. 2025–Jan. 2026
- Last checked
- What the source says
Among adopting firms, the scope of use remains limited: 57% of users integrate AI in three or fewer business functions, most commonly Sales and Marketing (52%), Strategy and Business Development (45%), and IT (41%).
- Method & sample
- 2026 AI supplement to the Census Business Trends and Outlook Survey, described by the authors as nationally representative; working paper (views are the authors').
- Drift between quote and source
- Base: share of AI-using firms (about 18% of all firms), not of all firms
- Interest
- n/a (federal statistical agency working paper).
Safe rephrasing
A 2026 Census working paper found that among U.S. firms using AI, 52% used it in sales and marketing, the most common function; only about 18% of firms used AI at all in that period.
Sources we opened
- Census CES Working Paper 26-25 (PDF) (primary)
Machine-readable: /api/claims/census-sales-marketing-top-ai-business-function-52-percent.json · Last checked 2026-10-16