Who is using AI—and who expects to use it next?
Separate observed adoption, uncertainty, and future intentions.
Read the findings →Business AI · The evidence desk
What are businesses actually doing with AI?
Where are they reporting obstacles or organizational changes? Follow the Census survey from adoption to employee tasks, business functions, implementation, and hesitation.
Explore the 35 survey questions →Save PDF / Print opens your browser’s print options. Choose “Save as PDF” for a copy.
The answer in context
AI shows up in tasks.
Adoption also changes organizations.
Among businesses reporting employee generative-AI use, 85.4% reported writing or editing. Among AI-using businesses, 15.4% developed new workflows and 15.0% trained staff. Among businesses not planning AI use, 22.0% cited a lack of knowledge and 20.7% cited privacy or security concerns.
These are different respondent groups in the April 23 supplement, collected November 17, 2025–February 8, 2026.
See what employees are doing →October 8, 2026 core snapshot
23.8%
Reported AI use in any business function during the two-week reference period, September 7–20.
Standard error: 0.41 percentage points.
27.7% expected use within six months; standard error 0.36 pp. Expectations are not realized adoption.
Adoption and plans →Follow the AI questions
Seven substantial topics, each grounded in reported results.
Where inside the business is AI being used?
Explore sales, strategy, research, customer service, and other functions.
Read the findings →Is AI helping employees, taking over tasks, or replacing older tools?
Task assistance and task replacement have different meanings.
Read the findings →What employment changes do AI-using businesses report?
Read reported employment effects with the task evidence.
Read the findings →What do businesses change when they adopt AI?
Training, workflows, technology purchases, and integration support.
Read the findings →What are employees actually doing with generative AI?
Writing, research, document work, coding, and other reported tasks.
Read the findings →What keeps businesses from planning to use AI?
Applicability, knowledge, privacy, maturity, skills, and costs.
Read the findings →The business conditions around AI
Economic context from the survey, with AI effects kept separate.
The same survey asks about performance, staffing, supply chains, costs, and weather disruption. These pages explain the conditions businesses report; they do not attribute those conditions to AI.
What business conditions surround the AI conversation?
Performance, revenue, demand, and the six-month outlook.
Read the findings →How are staffing and work hours changing?
Current workforce changes and expected staffing six months ahead.
Read the findings →What is changing in deliveries and inventories?
Supplier timing, stock adequacy, and future expectations.
Read the findings →What cost and financing pressures do businesses report?
Prices paid, prices charged, and negative interest-rate effects.
Read the findings →What business disruption comes from extreme weather?
Reported monetary losses and the events associated with them.
Read the findings →Before & now
This conversation started before generative AI became widespread.
Explore the 2019 Annual Business Survey and the 2023–24 BTOS supplement. Reviewed source tables show implementation, obstacles, and the earlier producer perspective. Question definitions explain what comparisons can support.
Read the history & download earlier tables →Read the survey.
All 35 questions are mapped to their topic pages; business identification and operational status are explained in the methods guide.
Read the research.
Four attributed briefs connect adoption, exposure, organizational change, and workplace arrangements.
Apply your judgment.
Survey results guide questions. Your business supplies the evidence for a purchasing decision.