Denver Ranks No. 1 in Business Use of AI, Topping San Francisco

Alex Tanzi, Bloomberg News

, Source: US Census Bureau

(Bloomberg) -- Move over San Francisco.

When it comes to using artificial intelligence at work, the Denver metropolitan area has the largest share of firms that already have adopted the technology, according to a survey of businesses from the US Census Bureau.

About one in ten Denver area firms said that they are using AI — software that performs tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as natural language processing, inventory planning or speech recognition. The share is higher than in San Francisco and in Seattle, two well-known bastions of tech companies.

The Census Bureau added new questions on AI use to its regular survey of businesses, which includes a sample of 1.2 million firms of all sizes and types except farming. The poll will help track AI adoption overtime across sectors and in the country’s 25 large metropolitan areas.

Nationally, 4.4% of businesses reported using AI to produce goods and services, the survey shows. Many big metro areas are above average — with notable exceptions such as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia.

Larger firms are adopting AI strategies rapidly. In mid-October, 3.8% of firms with at least 250 employees reported using AI to produce goods and services. A month later, that share jumped to 7.3%. That compared with 3.4% of businesses with 20 to 49 workers.

Splits are apparent by industry as well. Unsurprisingly, a larger share of companies in the information sector reported using the technology.