AI Talk vs. AI Use
This chart compares public-company discussion of artificial intelligence with reported business use. It combines SEC 10-K search-hit ratios with Census BTOS estimates without subtracting them, because public filers and U.S. employer businesses are different populations and the BTOS question changed in late 2025.
What does it show?
AI has moved from corporate talking point to measurable business use, although the two series describe different populations.
Methodology
The red line divides quarterly SEC EDGAR full-text-search hits for the exact phrase 'artificial intelligence' in Form 10-K filings by hits for the near-universal phrase 'annual report.' That denominator is a search-coverage proxy, not an authoritative filer count. The blue segments take the last published Census BTOS national estimate in each calendar quarter for the share of nonfarm employer businesses reporting AI use in the prior two weeks. Census broadened its question in November 2025 from AI used in producing goods or services to AI used in any business function, so the two wordings are separate series. Public-company filing hits and all employer businesses are different populations; the distance between the lines is descriptive and is not subtracted into a formal gap.