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February 24, 2026

One in Four Federal Lobbyists Now Work on AI

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 3,500 lobbyists – one quarter of those working at the federal level – reported lobbying on artificial intelligence (AI) issues at least once in 2025, according to a new report from Public Citizen. The report also found that over the last three years, the number of AI issue lobbyists on Capitol Hill has grown by nearly 170%, and the number of data center lobbyists has grown by an astonishing 500%.

Virtually every sector lobbied on AI issues in 2025. In total, 200 companies in the software and services industry led the charge, accounting for 30% of all AI lobbyists. The rest of the AI lobbying activity came from a range of major industries including health care, media, finance, manufacturing, and defense – a testament to the technology’s worryingly broad penetration across the U.S. economy and the potential risks when the AI bubble bursts.

“AI regulation will need to reflect the public interest, not the influence of corporate lobbyists,” said Mike Tanglis, a research director for Public Citizen and co-author of the report. “AI is already causing significant harm to children, our energy grid, our environment, and the job market. Leaving a society-transforming technology completely unregulated at the federal level is already having grave consequences.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hired the most AI lobbyists in 2025, totaling 91. The Chamber is followed by Microsoft (63), Meta (55), Intuit (51), and Amazon (48). All of the top 30 lobbying entities, as well as 91 of the top 100, are either corporations or corporate trade associations.

“AI is at severe risk of becoming the next chapter in the story of unchecked corporate power that causes widespread and avoidable economic devastation,” said Eileen O’Grady, a researcher for Public Citizen and co-author of the report. “When it comes to AI regulation, Congress should reject blanket preemption and deregulatory sandboxes; refuse to bail out speculative AI finance; build enforceable, sector-specific guardrails; invest in regulators’ technical capacity and enforcement capabilities; and prioritize protections for workers, children, and communities.”