Why do we use \$s=j\omega\$ in AC analysis instead of \$s=\sigma+j\omega\$?
Of course, \$s = \sigma + j\omega\$, by definition. What's happening is that \$\sigma\$ is being ignored because it is assumed to be zero. The reason for it is that we are looking at the response of the system to periodic (and thus non-decaying) sinusoidal signals, whereby Laplace conveniently reduces to Fourier along the imaginary axis. The real axis in the Laplace domain represents exponential decay/growth factors that pure signals do not have, and which Fourier does not model.