Census Bureau survey data show business AI use around 20% nationally as of May 2026, rising with firm size: 37% of firms with 250 or more employees, and under 20% of firms with four or fewer. Among workers who use AI, Microsoft's 2024 Work Trend Index found 78% bring their own tools. Put together, the small businesses that do use AI often use it through personal accounts, which is where a written list of tools does the most good.
Business AI use is still a minority, and it rises with size. The U.S. Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey put the national share of businesses using AI at 19.8% as of May 3, 2026. Use climbs with firm size: 37% of firms with at least 250 employees and 32% of firms with 100 to 249, compared with under 20% of firms with four or fewer employees. Use grew among firms with 20 or more employees between December 2025 and May 2026, while firms under 20 showed no significant change. (U.S. Census Bureau, May 26, 2026)
People bring their own tools. In Microsoft and LinkedIn's 2024 Work Trend Index, a survey of about 31,000 people in 31 countries, 75% of knowledge workers said they use AI at work, and 78% of AI users said they bring their own AI tools. The report does not give a separate figure for small businesses, and it is from 2024. (Microsoft, May 8, 2024)
The Census figure measures whether a business reports using AI. The Microsoft figure measures what individual workers do. The two can both be true: a business can report no AI use while staff use personal chat assistants for drafting and summarizing. For a small business, that second kind of use is the one most likely to be undocumented.
Start with the list: which AI tools are in use, on which accounts, and what client data goes into each. The free AI tool list takes about 10 minutes, and the AI Use Register Kit keeps it current.
This brief summarizes published survey data. It is not legal advice.
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