By Aijaz Alam
How many people use AI at work?
40.5% of employed US adults aged 18 to 64 used generative AI for their job in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Real-Time Population Survey (Bick, Blandin and Deming) published on the St. Louis Fed's FRED. That is up from 33.3% in Q3 2024 but below 45.2% in Q2 2026, the highest wave so far. Narrower questions give lower shares: 25% in the Fed's SHED (Oct 2025).
- 40.5%Employed US adults aged 18 to 64 using generative AI for their jobReal-Time Population Survey, Q3 2026
- About 41%US workforce using generative AI for workFed FEDS Note, RPS data, Nov 2025
- 38%Employed US adults using AI chatbots for tasks at workPew Research Center, Feb 2026
- 25%US workers who used generative AI at work in the prior monthFed SHED, Oct 2025
- 81%Of those users who agree it saves them timeFed SHED, Oct 2025
The numbers
The full breakdown
Share of US workers using AI for work, by survey
| Survey | Who is counted | Period | Using AI for work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real-Time Population Survey (Bick, Blandin and Deming) | Employed US adults 18 to 64 who use generative AI for their job | Q3 2026 | 40.5% |
| Federal Reserve FEDS Note (same survey) | US workforce with work-related generative AI use | Nov 2025 | About 41% |
| Pew Research Center | Employed US adults who use AI chatbots for tasks at work | Feb 2026 | 38% |
| Federal Reserve SHED | US workers who used generative AI at work in the prior month | Oct 2025 | 25% |
| Real-Time Population Survey, daily use | US workforce using generative AI for work daily in the last week | Nov 2025 | 12% |
Each row is the publisher's own figure. The surveys ask different questions of different groups, so the rows are not a ranking. The Fed note's table gives 40.7% for any work use in November 2025.
Workers using generative AI for work, by industry (RPS, Nov 2025)
| Industry | Using generative AI for work |
|---|---|
| Information | 70% |
| Financial | 63% |
| Professional services | 62% |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 58% |
| Wholesale trade | 48% |
| Accommodation and food services | 21% |
| All workers | About 41% |
Federal Reserve FEDS Note of 3 Apr 2026, citing the latest Real-Time Population Survey rates; the latest survey in the note is November 2025. Manufacturing had the fastest growth in the year, about 58% (14.5 points), but the note gives no level.
Workers using generative AI for work: highest and lowest occupations (Aug 2025 - May 2026)
| Occupation | Using generative AI for work |
|---|---|
| Computer and information research scientists | 87.3% |
| Information security analysts | 85.4% |
| Network and computer systems administrators | 82.4% |
| Medical secretaries and administrative assistants | 16.8% |
| Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses | 10.4% |
| Receptionists and information clerks | 7.6% |
| Animal caretakers | 5.3% |
St. Louis Fed, On the Economy, 1 Sep 2026 (Bick, Blandin, Deming and Schumacher): nearly 14,000 workers across four quarterly Real-Time Population Survey waves. The authors expected medical secretaries to adopt at about 61% from their tasks; actual use is 16.8%.
US workers using generative AI at work and their views, by education and age (Oct 2025)
| Group | Used generative AI at work in prior month | Employer encourages AI | AI will improve my career | Worried AI will replace my job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High school degree or less | 10% | 8% | 12% | 17% |
| Some college or technical degree | 17% | 12% | 17% | 21% |
| Associate degree | 20% | 14% | 18% | 21% |
| Bachelor's degree | 34% | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| Graduate degree | 43% | 31% | 29% | 20% |
| Ages 18 to 29 | 20% | 16% | 19% | 23% |
| Ages 30 to 44 | 31% | 24% | 24% | 24% |
| Ages 45 to 59 | 28% | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Ages 60 and older | 13% | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Workers with a disability | 19% | 15% | 18% | 24% |
| Workers without a disability | 25% | 19% | 20% | 20% |
| All workers | 25% | 19% | 20% | 20% |
Federal Reserve, Economic Well-Being of US Households in 2025 (SHED fielded October 2025), Table 5. All columns are shares of all workers; the last three count users and non-users together.
Employed US adults using AI chatbots for work, by age (Feb 2026)
| Age | Use AI chatbots for tasks at work |
|---|---|
| 18 to 29 | 41% |
| 30 to 49 | 43% |
| 50 to 64 | 29% |
| 65 and older | 18% |
| All employed adults | 38% |
Pew Research Center, 5,119 US adults, 17-23 Feb 2026; employed adults only.
What generative AI does for workers who use it
| Measure | Result | Study |
|---|---|---|
| Users who agree generative AI saves them time | 81% | Fed SHED, Oct 2025 |
| Users who agree it enables new tasks | 55% | Fed SHED, Oct 2025 |
| Users who agree it improves the quality of their work | 52% | Fed SHED, Oct 2025 |
| All workers who agree it saves time, users or not | 44% | Fed SHED, Oct 2025 |
| Issues resolved per hour by support agents with an AI assistant | +14% | NBER w31161, 2020-2021 data |
| Same, novice and low-skilled agents | +34% | NBER w31161, 2020-2021 data |
The SHED shares are what workers say. The NBER figures are measured output of 5,179 support agents at one software firm, most of them outside the US.
Over time
Employed US adults using generative AI for their job, every survey wave
| Survey wave | Using generative AI for work |
|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | 33.3% |
| Q4 2024 | 31.0% |
| Q1 2025 | 32.7% |
| Q2 2025 | 35.1% |
| Q3 2025 | 37.4% |
| Q4 2025 | 40.6% |
| Q1 2026 | 42.8% |
| Q2 2026 | 45.2% |
| Q3 2026 | 40.5% |
FRED series RPSGENAIUSAGESHAREWORK (Real-Time Population Survey, employed adults 18 to 64), rounded to one decimal, with FRED's quarter labels; last updated 20 Oct 2026. The St. Louis Fed post of 1 Sep 2026 gives 33% in August 2024 and 45% in May 2026, and the Fed FEDS Note gives 40.7% for November 2025. FRED and the survey's authors give no reason for the fall in Q3 2026.
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40.5% | Q3 2026 | Real-Time Population Survey | Asks employed adults 18 to 64 whether they use generative AI for their job, any tool, any amount. |
| 38% | Feb 2026 | Pew Research Center | Counts AI chatbots only, among employed adults of all ages, including those 65 and older (18%). |
| 25% | Oct 2025 | Federal Reserve SHED | Asks all workers about use as part of their job in the prior month; workers 60 and older are included (13%). |
| 12% | Nov 2025 | Real-Time Population Survey, via Fed FEDS Note | Daily use in the last week, a much stricter test than any use. |
| +14% | 2020-2021 | NBER w31161 | A productivity gain at one firm's support team, not a share of workers using AI. |
The surveys agree that a large minority of US workers use AI, but they put the share anywhere from one in four to just over four in ten. Three differences explain most of the gap.
The first is the question. The Real-Time Population Survey asks whether you use generative AI for your job at all. The Fed's SHED asks about use in the prior month as part of the job, and Pew asks only about AI chatbots for tasks at work. A tighter time window or a narrower tool gives a lower share.
The second is who is counted. The RPS covers employed adults aged 18 to 64. The SHED and Pew include older workers, who use AI much less (13% of SHED workers 60 and older, 18% of Pew's employed adults 65 and older).
The third is how often. Any use is not habit: in November 2025, about 12% of the workforce used generative AI for work daily in the last week, less than a third of all users.
The RPS is the only source with a regular series, so use it for the trend and the others to check the level.
What it means
How to use these numbers
About four in ten US workers now use generative AI in their job, up from one in three in the third quarter of 2024. That makes AI at work a common habit, but not yet the norm, and less common than use of any kind: the same survey found about 62% of adults used generative AI in May 2026.
Use depends far more on the job than on the person. Over 80% of computer research scientists and security analysts use it, against under 10% of receptionists and animal caretakers. Education follows the same line: 43% of workers with a graduate degree used it in the prior month in the SHED, against 10% of those with a high school degree or less.
For employers, the gap between users and non-users is the useful number. 81% of users say it saves them time, but only 19% of all workers say their employer encourages AI.
The share fell from 45.2% in Q2 2026 to 40.5% in Q3 2026. FRED and the survey's authors give no reason for the fall.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- Real-Time Population Survey
- Bick, Blandin and Deming; nationally representative online survey of US adults 18 to 64, asked quarterly since August 2024; FRED series RPSGENAIUSAGESHAREWORK, waves labelled by quarter, last updated 20 Oct 2026
- Federal Reserve FEDS Note
- "Monitoring AI Adoption in the US Economy", Jeffrey S. Allen, 3 Apr 2026; RPS data to November 2025
- Federal Reserve SHED
- Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, US adults, fielded October 2025; report of 13 May 2026, employment chapter and Table 5
- Pew Research Center
- American Trends Panel, 5,119 US adults, 17-23 Feb 2026; employed means working full or part time for pay
- St. Louis Fed
- On the Economy, "What Work Does Generative AI Do?", 1 Sep 2026; nearly 14,000 workers across four waves, Aug 2025 to May 2026
- NBER w31161
- Brynjolfsson, Li and Raymond; 5,179 customer support agents at one software firm, 2020-2021 data
- Checked at source
- 23 Oct 2026 (repo stats); 31 Oct 2026, the FRED series, the Fed note, the SHED employment chapter, Pew's age chapter and the St. Louis Fed post
- Last changed
- 30 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- Real-Time Population Survey: Generative AI Adoption Tracker (FRED), Bick, Blandin and Deming, via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) Survey
- Federal Reserve Board publications (SHED report, FEDS Notes, speeches), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Official data
- Pew Research Center Survey
- NBER working papers, National Bureau of Economic Research Study
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FAQ
More questions people ask
Which jobs use generative AI the most?
Computer and information research scientists (87.3%), information security analysts (85.4%) and network and computer systems administrators (82.4%), in survey waves from August 2025 to May 2026. Animal caretakers (5.3%) and receptionists (7.6%) use it least.
Are graduates more likely to use AI at work?
Yes. In the Fed's October 2025 SHED, 43% of workers with a graduate degree had used generative AI at work in the prior month, against 10% of workers with a high school degree or less.
How many workers use AI every day?
About 12% of the US workforce used generative AI for work daily in the last week of the November 2025 survey, less than a third of the 40.7% who used it at all.
Does AI make workers more productive?
In one study of 5,179 support agents, an AI assistant raised issues resolved per hour by 14% on average and by 34% for novice and low-skilled agents. Among SHED users, 81% agree it saves them time.
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (Bick, Blandin and Deming, via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Pew Research Center, National Bureau of Economic Research). Free to cite with a link to this page.