If this report changed how you think about AI, imagine what a clear strategy could do for your business.

TechStack Strategy helps small businesses identify the highest value opportunities for AI, prioritize what to implement first, and build practical systems that improve productivity, streamline operations, and drive growth.

Build Your AI Strategy →
State of AI for Small Business

Data · The Tracker

Small Business AI Adoption Tracker

The U.S. Census Bureau asks businesses about AI use every two weeks. Almost nobody reads the releases. We track every one — this page is the running record.

Tracker launched: July 4, 2026 · Updates with each Census BTOS release
Current readingThe Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey measures U.S. business AI use at17–20% in 2026 under its narrow definition — AI used in producing goods or services. That's the strictest, most rigorous number in circulation; broad industry surveys (any regular tool use) put small business adoption at 68–77%.Why the gap? Full reconciliation here.

Why this tracker exists

Most AI adoption coverage quotes annual, one-shot surveys — outdated the week they publish, and usually run by companies selling something. The BTOS is different: it's a probability-sampled government survey of roughly 1.2 million businesses per year, asked in rotating biweekly panels, with AI questions asked continuously. It is the closest thing that exists to a live feed of American business AI adoption — and it's public, free, and almost entirely ignored.

Every two weeks, we log the new reading here, note the trend, and flag anything unusual. Over time this page becomes the longest continuous public record of small business AI adoption.

The log

ReleaseAI use (current)Expected use (next 6 mo.)Notes
July 2026 (tracker launch)17–20% range across 2026 releasesConsistently ~2–4 points above current useBaseline entry. Next BTOS release will be logged with exact panel figures.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS). Narrow definition: AI used in producing goods or services during the last two weeks. Not comparable to industry surveys of "any AI tool use" — see the reconciliation.

Context: all the 2026 measures at once

SourceFigureDefinition
Census BTOS17–20%AI in production of goods/services (narrow, rigorous)
Federal Reserve46%AI use among small employer firms
U.S. Chamber68%Regular AI tool use
Goldman Sachs76%Current AI usage (program alumni)
Intuit QuickBooks77%Regular AI use (SMB software customers)

Related