Inside the Census Bureau’s Latest AI Adoption Data

On May 26, 2026, the United States Census Bureau released its findings based on the bureau’s latest Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) data, through a public write-up, showing a spread of AI adoption across American businesses, limited to larger firms and specific operational functions.

The Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) is an ongoing data product by the U.S. Census Bureau designed to provide continuous, near-real-time measurements of current business conditions and future economic projections.

Newly released data from the bureau’s Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), published on May 21, 2026, tracks corporate activity from mid-December 2025 through early May 2026. The findings offer a comprehensive look at how American companies are integrating AI into their daily workflows.

US AI Spreads, Scope Stays Small

As per the bureau’s public write-up, the recent Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) captures two facets of AI adoption: whether a business used AI in the past two weeks and if the business expects to use AI in the next six months.