42%
42% of US technology employees used AI daily in May 2026, against 9% to 15% in seven of the other nine industries.
A program of EffectiveSC
How We Use AISources checked October 24, 2026
15%
of US employees used AI at work daily in May 2026 · Gallup
Daily AI users rose from 4% of US employees in Q2 2023 to 15% in Q2 2026, and from 19% to 29% of those who use AI.
01
Who uses AI
Power users, casual users and non-users, and how the groups are changing.
02
How often
Daily, weekly, occasionally or never: how use is shifting over time.
03
Work and productivity
Time saved, work hours assisted, and what companies report in return.
04
Industries and jobs
Which industries use AI most, and what job postings ask for.
05
Spend and tokens
What organizations spend on AI, in dollars and tokens: big tech capex, forecasts, and who pays.
06
Agents and oversight
AI agents at work, and what it costs to check their output.
07
Organizations
How organizations adopt AI, and how yours compares.
How often
How often do US workers use AI?
Two trackers disagree: Gallup's daily users keep climbing, but the St. Louis Fed's every-workday use has stayed between 9% and 14% of workers since 2024.
Agents and oversight
How much will companies spend checking AI agents' work?
Forecasts put oversight at roughly 10% to 20% of companies' agent spending by 2030.
EstimateWork and productivity
Are companies getting a return on AI?
Only 37% of respondents in McKinsey's August 2026 State of AI report could attribute any EBIT impact to AI.
Industries and jobs
Is AI costing young workers jobs?
In the most AI-exposed jobs, employment of 22- to 25-year-olds is 19% below trend, through fewer hires rather than layoffs.
42%
42% of US technology employees used AI daily in May 2026, against 9% to 15% in seven of the other nine industries.
47%
47% of US employees said their organization had integrated AI in May 2026, but only 30% used AI a few times a week or more.
40%
40% of large companies were scaling AI agents in August 2026, up from 27% in McKinsey's previous annual survey.
6×
In December 2025, OpenAI's top 5% of enterprise users sent six times as many messages as the median user.
7.2%
7.2% of US job postings on Indeed mentioned AI in September 2026, double the 3.6% of a year earlier.
2%
Only 2% of US workers said AI did all or most of their work in September 2025, while 21% said it did at least some.
Daily use, two different questions
Gallup's daily share has climbed. The St. Louis Fed's every-workday share has stayed in a narrow band since 2024.
How often, and how much of the work
Fifteen percent used AI daily in May 2026. Two percent said it did all or most of their work.
Who sells it, and for how much
List prices and the commercial result each company has published. Seats, a run rate, and a price per resolution stay in that company's unit.
The AI at Work Benchmark
Score your organization's practices, measure your people with an anonymous pulse, and see both against the published evidence.