As businesses worldwide are adopting artificial intelligence to boost productivity, little has been known about how businesses in Canada are using it. Survey results from the Bank of Canada show that AI adoption remains at an early stage for many Canadian businesses. As well, businesses expect AI to affect capital spending and employment, but only gradually.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly moved from being a novelty to becoming an everyday tool for many workers across Canada. In fact, more than two-thirds of business leaders told us they personally use AI tools in a typical work week.

Despite this widespread use of AI by individual leaders, our survey data reveal that broad adoption of AI across business operations remains limited. However, AI adoption seems likely to deepen over time as businesses integrate the technology into more aspects of their operations.

We know this from responses to special questions included in the December 2025 edition of the Bank of Canada’s Business Leaders’ Pulse (BLP) survey. These questions aimed to fill a data gap about how Canadian businesses are using AI, how it is affecting them today and how it could affect them in the future. The responses offer new insights into AI adoption and what that could mean for capital spending and employment.

The use of artificial intelligence by businesses remains at an early stage

Aligning our approach with other research on AI adoption, we distinguish between individual use of AI and its adoption across business operations, particularly in production processes. Individual use typically leads to small productivity gains within existing jobs. The largest economic effects, however, are likely to come from changes in how businesses operate and make employment and capital spending decisions.

Only 8% of businesses in the survey said they use AI significantly in their core operations, with 50% saying they use AI to a low or moderate degree in core operations (Chart 1). A further 11% reported that they plan to start using AI in 2026. Meanwhile, 28% of businesses said they are not using AI and do not plan to adopt it in 2026, with many not seeing AI as relevant to their work.