Between the huge amounts of money being invested in data centres to fears of job losses to its role in sending equity markets higher, the economic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) has been grabbing headlines for some time now.

But how many businesses are actually using AI?

The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions has the answer. Conducted from April 1 to May 6, 2026 by Statistics Canada, the survey found that nearly one-fifth (19.2%) of businesses in Canada reported using AI to produce goods or deliver services over the previous 12 months.* It was just slightly lower in Alberta at 18.4% (see the chart below).

On the one hand, that’s a lot. And the proportion of businesses using AI has grown from just 6.1% two years ago.

On the other hand, that leaves over 80% of businesses that are yet to put AI to use in the production of goods and services.

Just over half (51%) of Canadian employees surveyed by KPMG use generative AI tools at work (up from 22% in 2023). The difference between adoption rates in the two surveys likely comes down to how the question was asked. The Statistics Canada survey specifically asked about using AI to produce goods or deliver services which might lead respondents to exclude its use for more general purposes (e.g., drafting internal emails or summarizing meeting notes). Either way, the results of both surveys show a rapid increase in adoption over time.

In terms of what businesses and organizations say is preventing them from adopting AI, two-fifths (40.0%) said that AI is not relevant to the goods they produce or services they deliver, while almost one-quarter (23.0%) said that there are no barriers that limit their use of AI (see the chart below).

A draft federal AI strategy, expected to be released this week, includes several measures aimed to boost Canada's business adoption of AI by 2030.  

AI use is evident to at least some degree across all major industry categories, but it is most common in the information and culture sector (42.3%) and in the finance and insurance sector (40.4%). Businesses in the primary agricultural sector were the least likely to report using AI in the production of goods and services at just 4.5% (see the chart below).

Data for government agencies was considered too unreliable to be published, but the usage by private businesses (19.0%) versus non-profit organizations (20.4%) was roughly the same.  

What’s next? If the uptick over the last two years is any indication, the popularity of AI as a business tool will continue to rise. We are still in the early stages of adoption, with some (especially those selling AI products) arguing that widespread usage is inevitable.

*The survey asked respondents: Over the last 12 months, did this business or organization use artificial intelligence (AI) in producing goods or delivering services?

Answer to the previous trivia question: With tourism accounting for over 70% of its GDP, Macao is the most dependent on its tourism sector.

Today’s trivia question: What was the first AI chatbot?