AI in Finance Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 9 sourced statistics
AI use in finance is easier to quote than to measure, because most published numbers come from vendors selling AI tools. This page uses official and central-bank surveys instead. In the US, 33.9% of finance and insurance businesses reported using AI in the two weeks to May 3, 2026, compared with 19.8% of all businesses, according to the Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey. In the UK, 75% of financial firms surveyed by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority in 2024 were already using AI, up from 58% in 2022. Among individuals, the St. Louis Fed found that 54.6% of US adults aged 18 to 64 used generative AI by August 2025, and 37.4% used it for work. Where firms apply AI to a specific finance task, the reported gains are operational: in the Association for Financial Professionals' 2026 survey, 49% of organizations using AI against payments fraud reported more efficient fraud reporting. For a small business, the useful reading is that AI is now common in finance, but smaller firms adopt it more slowly than large ones.
Key takeaways
- 33.9% of US finance and insurance businesses used AI in spring 2026, against 19.8% of all US businesses; about 39% expected to use it within six months (Census Bureau).
- Larger firms lead: 37% of US firms with 250 or more employees used AI, while fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees did (Census Bureau, period ending May 3, 2026).
- 75% of UK financial firms were using AI in 2024, with another 10% planning to within three years, up from 58% in 2022 (Bank of England and FCA).
- 54.6% of US adults aged 18 to 64 used generative AI by August 2025, and 37.4% used it for work (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).
- Among US organizations using AI against payments fraud, 49% reported more efficient fraud reporting, 45% better detection of deepfakes and 43% real-time identification (AFP, 465 treasury practitioners).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33.9% | 33.9% of US businesses in the finance and insurance sector reported using AI in any business function in the two weeks to May 3, 2026, compared with 19.8% of all US businesses. Neither rate changed significantly between December 2025 and May 2026. | U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS): Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users, May 26, 2026 | 2026 |
| ~39% | Roughly 39% of finance and insurance businesses expected to use AI in their business functions over the next six months, against a national range of 20% to 23% of businesses between December 2025 and May 2026. | U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS): Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users, May 26, 2026 | 2026 |
| 37% vs <20% | 37% of US firms with at least 250 employees reported using AI, and 32% of firms with 100 to 249 employees, while fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees did. AI use rose among firms with 20 or more employees but did not change significantly among smaller firms. | U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS): Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users, May 26, 2026 | 2026 |
| 75% | 75% of UK financial services firms were already using AI in 2024, and a further 10% planned to within three years, up from 58% and 14% in the 2022 survey. 118 firms responded. | Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, Artificial intelligence in UK financial services - 2024, November 21, 2024 | 2024 |
| 17% | Foundation models, the type behind generative AI tools, made up 17% of all AI use cases at UK financial firms, and a third of all AI use cases were third-party implementations, up from 17% in 2022. | Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, Artificial intelligence in UK financial services - 2024, November 21, 2024 | 2024 |
| Top 3 | UK financial firms saw the highest current benefits of AI in data and analytical insights, anti-money laundering and combating fraud, and cybersecurity, and expected the largest increase in benefits in operational efficiency, productivity and cost base. | Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, Artificial intelligence in UK financial services - 2024, November 21, 2024 | 2024 |
| 54.6% | 54.6% of US adults aged 18 to 64 used generative AI in August 2025, up 10 percentage points in a year. Work use rose from 33.3% to 37.4%. | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, On the Economy: The State of Generative AI Adoption in 2025 (Real-Time Population Survey), November 13, 2025 | 2025 |
| 5.7% | US workers spent 5.7% of their work hours using generative AI in August 2025, up from 4.1% in November 2024, and reported time savings equal to 1.6% of all work hours. | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, On the Economy: The State of Generative AI Adoption in 2025 (Real-Time Population Survey), November 13, 2025 | 2025 |
| 49% | US organizations that use AI for payments fraud mitigation reported more efficient fraud reporting (49%), improved detection of deepfake technology (45%) and real-time identification capabilities (43%). Association survey of 465 treasury practitioners, January 2026, underwritten by Truist. | Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), 2026 Payments Fraud and Control Survey, press release of April 14, 2026 | 2026 |
The statistics
33.9% of US businesses in the finance and insurance sector reported using AI in any business function in the two weeks to May 3, 2026, compared with 19.8% of all US businesses. Neither rate changed significantly between December 2025 and May 2026.
Roughly 39% of finance and insurance businesses expected to use AI in their business functions over the next six months, against a national range of 20% to 23% of businesses between December 2025 and May 2026.
37% of US firms with at least 250 employees reported using AI, and 32% of firms with 100 to 249 employees, while fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees did. AI use rose among firms with 20 or more employees but did not change significantly among smaller firms.
75% of UK financial services firms were already using AI in 2024, and a further 10% planned to within three years, up from 58% and 14% in the 2022 survey. 118 firms responded.
Foundation models, the type behind generative AI tools, made up 17% of all AI use cases at UK financial firms, and a third of all AI use cases were third-party implementations, up from 17% in 2022.
UK financial firms saw the highest current benefits of AI in data and analytical insights, anti-money laundering and combating fraud, and cybersecurity, and expected the largest increase in benefits in operational efficiency, productivity and cost base.
54.6% of US adults aged 18 to 64 used generative AI in August 2025, up 10 percentage points in a year. Work use rose from 33.3% to 37.4%.
US workers spent 5.7% of their work hours using generative AI in August 2025, up from 4.1% in November 2024, and reported time savings equal to 1.6% of all work hours.
US organizations that use AI for payments fraud mitigation reported more efficient fraud reporting (49%), improved detection of deepfake technology (45%) and real-time identification capabilities (43%). Association survey of 465 treasury practitioners, January 2026, underwritten by Truist.
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- Definitions differ. The Census Bureau asks whether a business used AI in any business function in the past two weeks; the Bank of England and FCA ask firms whether they use AI anywhere in the business; the St. Louis Fed asks individual adults about generative AI. The percentages are not interchangeable.
- The Census Bureau changed its AI question in November 2025 from use 'in producing goods or services' to use 'in any business function', so figures from before and after the change are not directly comparable.
- The Bank of England and FCA survey covers 118 UK financial firms, mostly larger regulated institutions, and dates from 2024. Small accounting practices and sole traders are not represented.
- The AFP figure covers only organizations that already use AI against payments fraud, as reported in an association survey of 465 treasury practitioners at mostly larger US organizations, underwritten by a bank. The benefits are self-reported, not measured reductions in fraud.
- None of these sources measures whether AI improves accuracy, saves money or reduces fraud for a given business. Adoption is not the same as results, and vendor claims about AI savings are not included on this page because we could not match them to a free primary source.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed on 2026-10-28. We set out to use only official, central-bank or peer-reviewed sources, and kept one professional association survey that states its figures on its own free page. Every figure was opened on that date: the U.S. Census Bureau's May 26, 2026 analysis of Business Trends and Outlook Survey data (December 14, 2025 to May 3, 2026), the Bank of England and FCA's third survey of AI in UK financial services (published November 21, 2024), the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis analysis of its Real-Time Population Survey (November 13, 2025) and the AFP's 2026 Payments Fraud and Control Survey press release. We removed a McKinsey estimate of generative AI value in banking (it linked to an index page), a 2023 Upwork freelancer figure (outdated and not about finance), and two Ardent Partners figures on invoice capture accuracy and processing cost that were not stated on the linked page. On 2026-10-28 we replaced the AFP figure on how many organizations use AI against payments fraud, which now appears only on the payment fraud statistics page, with the benefits AFP reports from organizations that do. We looked for European Banking Authority and Eurostat figures but could not read them from the published files, so they are not included.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
How many financial firms use AI?
In the UK, 75% of financial firms surveyed by the Bank of England and FCA were using AI in 2024. In the US, 33.9% of finance and insurance businesses reported using AI in any business function in the two weeks to May 3, 2026 (Census Bureau). The two surveys use different samples and questions, so the gap is not a like-for-like comparison.
Are small businesses using AI?
Less than large ones. The Census Bureau found that fewer than 20% of US firms with four or fewer employees used AI in spring 2026, against 37% of firms with 250 or more employees, and use did not grow significantly among firms with fewer than 20 employees.
What do financial firms use AI for?
UK financial firms reported the biggest current benefits in data and analytical insights, anti-money laundering and fraud detection, and cybersecurity, and expected the largest future gains in operational efficiency and productivity (Bank of England and FCA, 2024).
What do organizations get from using AI against payments fraud?
In the AFP's 2026 survey, organizations using AI for fraud mitigation reported more efficient fraud reporting (49%), better detection of deepfake technology (45%) and real-time identification (43%). These are self-reported benefits from treasury practitioners, not measured reductions in fraud. How many organizations use AI against fraud at all is on the payment fraud statistics page.
How much do workers use generative AI?
The St. Louis Fed found that 37.4% of US adults aged 18 to 64 used generative AI for work in August 2025, and that workers spent 5.7% of their work hours using it.
Put these figures to use
- Accounting basics for businesses that send invoices: The bookkeeping groundwork that any automation, AI or otherwise, depends on.
- Invoicing software ROI calculator: Estimate whether a software tool pays for itself from the time it saves.
- Calculating ROI on automation for small businesses: Measure minutes, price your time and count every cost before you automate.
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