Firms using AI
This chart tracks the share of U.S. employer businesses reporting recent use of artificial intelligence. It uses the Census Business Trends and Outlook Survey and preserves the November 2025 question change as a visible break, so the jump across definitions should not be interpreted as pure adoption growth.
What does it show?
Business AI use was already rising before the survey definition broadened; the later jump should not be read as pure adoption growth.
Methodology
Census Business Trends and Outlook Survey, national estimates: share of employer businesses answering Yes to using artificial intelligence in the last two weeks. Biweekly, survey-weighted, all nonfarm employer businesses. On November 17, 2025 the Census Bureau broadened the question from AI use 'in producing goods or services' to use 'in any business function'; the two wordings are shown as separate series where the file carries both, and the level jump at the break reflects the definition change, not adoption. The six-month-expectations question is excluded. Parsed from the BTOS National.xlsx download by joining the Response Estimates sheet's period-code columns to period-end dates from the Collection and Reference Dates sheet, with coded labels resolved through the file's Data Dictionary. Census also offers a per-period API, unsuitable for a zero-touch daily rebuild.