The Adoption of Industrial AI in America
Abstract
Using a mandatory, purpose-designed Census Bureau survey of approximately 28,500 establishments, we provide new evidence on industrial AI adoption in US manufacturing. Despite widespread digitization, only 22.8 percent of plants report any AI use as of 2021; intensity-weighted adoption is far lower. Adoption correlates with more-recent digital infrastructure—cloud computing and predictive analytics—rather than legacy on-premises IT or descriptive analytics. Structured production-process management and size are significant predictors. Cost and lack of applicable use case are the most cited barriers, followed by expertise. Prior productivity does not predict use, pointing to organizational readiness as a key barrier to AI diffusion.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Big Data and Business Intelligence
Digital Transformation in Industry
Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Publication details
- Journal / source
- AEA Papers and Proceedings
- Publisher
- American Economic Association
- Volume
- 116
- Pages
- 20–25
- Publication date
- 1 May 2026
- Language
- EN