Investing.com -- AI adoption is increasing across the U.S. economy, but usage remains heavily concentrated in a few sectors, according to recent data from Wolfe Research.

Only 19% of businesses report using AI to produce goods and services, based on the U.S. Census Bureau Business Trends and Outlook Survey. This contrasts with roughly 50% of firms paying for AI tools according to Ramp data.

The gap reflects differences in methodology, particularly the distinction between using AI in production versus subscribing to AI tools. The Census Bureau survey is a broader, self-reported survey of the U.S. business population, while Ramp tracks real-time spending on AI vendors, capturing paid adoption and skewing toward more tech-forward firms.

AI adoption is heavily skewed toward a handful of sectors. Securities and financial investments rank near the top, second only to tech services. Beyond these sectors, the drop-off is steep, with most industries showing relatively limited usage.

Within Ramp's data, paid adoption has increased quickly, with over 50% of firms now using AI tools. OpenAI leads, but Anthropic has seen a rapid rise in adoption over the past year, establishing itself as the number two provider. Other players like Google remain relatively limited.

Wolfe Research forecasts hiring could average around 70,000 jobs this year, but a broad wave of AI-driven layoffs is probably not a 2026 story.