Data · Tennessee AI Adoption Tracker · Survey round of September 21 to October 4, 2026
22.7% of Tennessee businesses used AI in the two weeks from September 7 to 20, 2026, the two weeks covered by the latest Census survey round. The US rate was 23.8%. Averaged across the last six rounds, Tennessee was at 21.3% and the US at 22.8%. Source: US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey.
What it means
About one Tennessee business in 5 used AI in a given two weeks over the last six rounds. Georgia reports the highest use among Tennessee's neighbors; Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri report less. Looking ahead, 27.7% of Tennessee businesses expect to use AI in the next six months. A Middle Tennessee business that puts AI to work on one real workflow now is ahead of most local competitors.
| State | Six-round avg. | Latest round |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 25.4% | 25.1% |
| Virginia | 24.2% | 24.3% |
| North Carolina | 23.6% | 23.6% |
| United States | 22.8% | 23.8% |
| Kentucky | 21.9% | 25.0% |
| Tennessee | 21.3% | 22.7% |
| Missouri | 21.1% | 22.9% |
| Arkansas | 20.5% | 23.0% |
| Alabama | 18.7% | 20.9% |
| Mississippi | 16.0% | 12.9% |
Census publishes these cuts for the US as a whole, not for Tennessee, so these are national rates for the latest round (September 21 to October 4, 2026). Find your industry to see where you stand.
The Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey asks businesses every two weeks: "In the last two weeks, did this business use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in any of its business functions?" This page reports the share answering yes for the latest round and the average of the six most recent rounds with a published Tennessee estimate. States whose estimates Census suppressed in any of those rounds are left out of the ranking.
For what small businesses actually pay for, see the Small Business AI Spend Pulse.
Source: US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey, state, national, sector and employment size class estimates, rounds through October 4, 2026, published October 8, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026. Refreshes every two weeks. Download the data (JSON).
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