46%About 5 in 10of US small employer firms said the business or its employees were using AI for work in late 2025
46% of US small employer firms said their business or staff used AI for work when surveyed in Sept to Nov 2025. Another 15% planned to start within 12 months, and 33% had no plans.
SurveyChecked at source, 23 Oct 2026SmallUSASmall business · AI adoption
46% of US small employer firms said the business or its employees were using AI for work in late 2025 (Sep-Nov 2025).
46%
the latest figure (Sep-Nov 2025)
Small
company size covered
Survey
type of source
Why you can trust it. Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey: survey, sampled survey with a published method. Convenience sample of 6,525 employer firms with 1 to 499 employees, all 50 states and DC, fielded 3 Sep to 14 Nov 2025; AI questions answered by about 81% (N=5,248). Weighted to Census data.
Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey
Source type
Survey: Sampled survey with a published method
What it measures
46% of US small employer firms said the business or its employees were using AI for work in late 2025
Data period
Sep-Nov 2025 (ends 14 Nov 2025)
Published by the source
3 Mar 2026
Who is counted
Convenience sample of 6,525 employer firms with 1 to 499 employees, all 50 states and DC, fielded 3 Sep to 14 Nov 2025; AI questions answered by about 81% (N=5,248). Weighted to Census data.
In the source's words
46% of employer firms reported that their business or employees were using artificial intelligence (AI) for work at the time of the survey.
Checked at source
23 Oct 2026: Read in the 2026 Report on Employer Firms PDF, page 26.
Reuse
Free to quote with credit. Convenience sample, not random; cite "Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey".
No changes recorded yet. First checked at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
Cite this number
APA
Federal Reserve Banks. (2026). 46% of US small employer firms said the business or its employees were using AI for work in late 2025. Via digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/small-business/small-business-ai-use-fed-sbcs
MLA
"46% of US small employer firms said the business or its employees were using AI for work in late 2025." Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey, Sep-Nov 2025. digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/small-business/small-business-ai-use-fed-sbcs.
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FAQ
Questions about this number
What is the latest figure for AI adoption (USA)?
46% of US small employer firms said the business or its employees were using AI for work in late 2025, for Sep-Nov 2025, according to Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey. We checked it at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
Related
More Small business statistics
Official dataSmallUSA
24.3%
of US businesses with 1 to 4 employees used AI in any business function in the two weeks before the survey
Sample: About 1.2 million US employer businesses in six panels; each panel reports every 12 weeks. Estimate for firms with 1 to 4 employees.
