Small business data & AI adoption statistics (2026)

How businesses use their data

1. 86% of UK businesses handle digitised data. By size: 83% of sole traders, 92% of micro businesses (up to 9 employees), 99% of small (10 to 49), 99% of medium (50 to 249) and 96% of large businesses (250+).
   Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
2. 25% of UK businesses that handle digitised data use it for analytics, to generate new insights.
   Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
3. 24% to 69% is the range by size for using data for analytics: 24% of sole traders, 26% of micro, 35% of small, 49% of medium and 69% of large businesses.
   Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
4. 32% of data-handling businesses acquire or collect data from other organisations; 59% of large businesses do.
   Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
5. 14% share data outside their organisation, rising to 40% of large businesses.
   Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
6. 8% say their use of data led to more efficient internal processes "always or most of the time"; 29% of large businesses say so.
   Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source

AI adoption by business size

7. 19.95% of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees used AI technologies in 2025.
   Eurostat, Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (Statistics Explained), 2025. EU survey on ICT usage in enterprises, 2025; enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons. Data extracted December 2025. Source
8. 17% vs 55% is the gap by size in the EU: 17% of small enterprises (10 to 49 staff) used AI in 2025, against 30.36% of medium (50 to 249) and 55.03% of large enterprises (250+).
   Eurostat, Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (Statistics Explained), 2025. EU survey on ICT usage in enterprises, 2025; enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons. Data extracted December 2025. Source
9. 25% of UK businesses were using some form of AI technology in late December 2025, up 15 percentage points since the question was first asked in late September 2023.
   Office for National Statistics, Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 8 January 2026, 2026. Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) wave 147, live 15 to 28 December 2025. Official statistics in development. Source
10. 44% of UK businesses with 250 or more employees were using AI, against 25% of all businesses.
    Office for National Statistics, Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 8 January 2026, 2026. Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) wave 147, live 15 to 28 December 2025. Official statistics in development. Source
11. 41% of UK businesses that handle digitised data use AI for at least one purpose: 40% of sole traders, 41% of micro, 51% of small, 58% of medium and 82% of large businesses.
    Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
12. 19.8% of US businesses reported using AI as of 3 May 2026; overall use "hovered between 17% and 20%" from December 2025 to May 2026.
    US Census Bureau, Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users, 2026. Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), 14 December 2025 to 3 May 2026; published 26 May 2026. Source
13. 37% of US firms with 250 or more employees reported using AI, and 32% of firms with 100 to 249 employees. Less than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees did.
    US Census Bureau, Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users, 2026. Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), 14 December 2025 to 3 May 2026; published 26 May 2026. Source
14. 39.7% of US businesses in the Information sector used AI, and 33.9% in Finance and Insurance, against around 14% in Retail Trade.
    US Census Bureau, Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users, 2026. Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), 14 December 2025 to 3 May 2026; published 26 May 2026. Source

What businesses use AI for, and what stops them

15. 28% of UK data-handling businesses use AI to research information, the most common use, and 21% use it to summarise or draft content.
    Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
16. 11.75% of EU enterprises used AI for text mining in 2025, the most common AI technology, followed by generating pictures, video or audio (9.55%).
    Eurostat, Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (Statistics Explained), 2025. EU survey on ICT usage in enterprises, 2025; enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons. Data extracted December 2025. Source
17. 21% of UK businesses using AI have it integrated into their existing business systems; 57% of large businesses do.
    Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
18. 17% of UK businesses using AI have a policy or guidelines for it, and 5% a formal written policy.
    Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026, 2026. Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. Source
19. 70.89% of EU enterprises that considered AI but did not use it gave lack of relevant expertise as a reason, ahead of unclear legal consequences (52.52%) and data protection and privacy concerns (48.83%).
    Eurostat, Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (Statistics Explained), 2025. EU survey on ICT usage in enterprises, 2025; enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons. Data extracted December 2025. Source
20. 42.03% of enterprises in Denmark used AI in 2025, the highest share in the EU; Romania was lowest at 5.21%.
    Eurostat, Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (Statistics Explained), 2025. EU survey on ICT usage in enterprises, 2025; enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons. Data extracted December 2025. Source
21. 15% of UK businesses were planning to adopt AI within three months in late December 2025, the largest share since the question was introduced.
    Office for National Statistics, Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 8 January 2026, 2026. Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) wave 147, live 15 to 28 December 2025. Official statistics in development. Source
22. 20% to 23% of US businesses expected to use AI in the next six months.
    US Census Bureau, Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users, 2026. Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), 14 December 2025 to 3 May 2026; published 26 May 2026. Source

Business intelligence tools inside companies

23. 25% of employees actively use BI and analytics tools on average, with "minimal growth in the past seven years" of tracking.
    BARC and Eckerson Group, Strategies for Driving Adoption and Usage with BI and Analytics, 2022. Global survey of 214 data and analytics leaders; published April 2022. Source
24. 92% of data and analytics leaders said BI and analytics usage had increased over the past five years; 50% said it had increased a lot.
    BARC and Eckerson Group, Strategies for Driving Adoption and Usage with BI and Analytics, 2022. Global survey of 214 data and analytics leaders; published April 2022. Source

Where sources disagree

• The AI share depends on who is counted. The ONS figure (25%) covers all UK businesses; DSIT's 41% covers only businesses that handle digitised data and counts AI used "for at least one purpose", including everyday tools for research and drafting. Eurostat's 19.95% excludes firms with fewer than 10 employees. The US Census figure (19.8%) asks about AI used in any business function, a wording the Census Bureau changed in November 2025, so earlier US figures are not directly comparable.
• Size cuts the same way everywhere. Every source finds larger firms more likely to use data and AI: 69% vs 26% for analytics (UK, large vs micro), 55% vs 17% for AI (EU, large vs small), 37% vs under 20% (US, 250+ vs 1 to 4 employees).
• The BI figure is older and smaller. The BARC and Eckerson figure comes from 214 data and analytics leaders in 2022, mostly at larger organisations. We found no newer independent figure for the share of employees using BI tools.

Methodology

We included a statistic only if it appears on the source's own page, and we quote it as the source states it, without rounding (Eurostat publishes two decimal places; we keep them). Four of the five sources are official statistics: the UK government's Business Data Survey (DSIT, with Ipsos), the ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey, the US Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey and Eurostat's survey on ICT usage in enterprises. The fifth is an industry study by BARC and Eckerson Group, included because no official source measures how many employees use BI tools. Size bands differ by source and are given with each figure. Figures published only by vendors or trade press without a link to the original survey were left out. All links were checked on 5 November 2026.

Sources

1. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Business Data Survey 2026 (2026). Official statistics, published 18 June 2026. 4,450 UK businesses, fieldwork October 2025 to January 2026 by Ipsos; weighted by size and sector. Data-use figures are for the 4,090 businesses that handle digitised data. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-business-data-survey-2026/uk-business-data-survey-2026
2. Office for National Statistics, Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 8 January 2026 (2026). Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) wave 147, live 15 to 28 December 2025. Official statistics in development. https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/8january2026
3. US Census Bureau, Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users (2026). Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), 14 December 2025 to 3 May 2026; published 26 May 2026. https://census.gov/library/stories/2026/05/ai-use-businesses.html
4. Eurostat, Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (Statistics Explained) (2025). EU survey on ICT usage in enterprises, 2025; enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons. Data extracted December 2025. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Use_of_artificial_intelligence_in_enterprises
5. BARC and Eckerson Group, Strategies for Driving Adoption and Usage with BI and Analytics (2022). Global survey of 214 data and analytics leaders; published April 2022. https://barc.com/news/new-study-identifies-drivers-of-bi-and-analytics-adoption-in-companies-today/