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AI adoption among large enterprises has peaked and declined—suggesting the companies with the most resources are pulling back on AI usage.
The Census Bureau’s Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) tracks AI usage across 1.2 million U.S. businesses. This report continues Apollo’s initial analysis that first reported this trend in August, and the decline continued:

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Findings

  • Large enterprises (250+ employees) peaked in July 2025 at 13.4%, then dropped to 11.7% (a 13% decline)
  • The adoption in every firm size category declined since July, except the smallest with 1-4 employees
  • The smallest firms (1-4 employees) continued rising: 9.65% → 10.3%
Chart showing AI adoption rates by company size from Nov 2023 to Sept 2025, highlighting 13% decline in large enterprises since July 2025 peak

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What does it mean?

This 2-3 month decline breaks the steady growth pattern seen since late 2023—and it’s happening among the firms with the most resources. Analysts plan to monitor whether it continues.

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About the data

Survey question:
In the last two weeks, did this business use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in producing goods or services? (Examples of AI: machine learning, natural language processing, virtual agents, voice recognition, etc.)
Possible answers: Yes, No, I don't know. This analysis calculates the percentage of Yes responses across data from November 19, 2023 through September 10, 2025, using a rolling 6-survey (12-week) average to smooth fluctuations. Methodology based on Apollo’s August analysis. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Business Trends and Outlook Survey, Employment Size Class dataset