12.7%
of businesses in Quebec used AI applications to produce goods or deliver services in the 12 months before the second quarter of 2025.
Official data
Business AI adoption: the official figures.
How many businesses in Quebec and Canada really use artificial intelligence? These are the figures published by Statistics Canada and the Institut de la statistique du Québec, with a link to each source. We have not changed them.
Key figures
Five numbers to remember.
19.2%
of businesses in Canada used AI in the 12 months before the second quarter of 2026, up from 12.2% a year earlier.
25.2%
of businesses in Canada plan to use AI over the next 12 months (third quarter of 2026), up from 14.5% in 2025 and 10.6% in 2024.
31.8%
of businesses planning to use AI are looking at virtual agents or chatbots (third quarter of 2026); 20.4% at speech or voice recognition.
89.4%
of businesses that used AI reported no change in their number of employees (second quarter of 2025).
By size
Plans to use AI by number of employees.
Share of businesses in Canada planning to use AI over the next 12 months. Source: Statistics Canada, Table 4.
| Size | Q3 2024 | Q3 2025 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 employees | 10.2% | 14.2% | 25.6% |
| 5 to 19 employees | 10.0% | 14.4% | 21.0% |
| 20 to 99 employees | 12.6% | 15.0% | 32.8% |
| All sizes | 10.6% | 14.5% | 25.2% |
By industry
Where plans are strongest.
Professional, scientific and technical services
54.8% plan to use AI (third quarter of 2026).
Information and cultural industries
48.0% plan to use AI (third quarter of 2026).
Construction
18.3% in 2026, up from 3.2% in 2024.
What it means
For a small business here.
Most businesses do not use AI yet, but the share planning to has more than doubled in two years, and the smallest businesses (1 to 4 employees) are moving too. The planned uses are concrete: data analytics, language models, virtual agents, voice recognition.
The employment figure is useful too: among businesses already using AI, almost nine in ten did not change their headcount. AI there mostly absorbs repetitive work.
Sources
The sources, to cite.
- Statistics Canada, Analysis on planned use of artificial intelligence by businesses in Canada, third quarter of 2026 (October 1, 2026)
- Statistics Canada, Analysis on artificial intelligence use by businesses in Canada, second quarter of 2025 (June 16, 2025)
- Institut de la statistique du Québec, L'intelligence artificielle dans les entreprises au Québec (November 28, 2025, in French)
You may reuse these figures by citing the official source. If this page helped, a link to it is appreciated. Figures last checked: October 22, 2026.
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