Small business AI & automation statistics 2026

Last updated: October 7, 2026. Every figure below links to the page it came from, with that page's publication date. Where a source is a living data file or a page that was updated after it was first published, the entry says so.

Direct answer

Between a quarter and three-quarters of US small businesses use AI today, depending on who is asking and how they ask. The Census Bureau counted 23.8% of all US businesses using AI in the two weeks ending September 6, 2026. The Federal Reserve Banks' Small Business Credit Survey found 46% of small employer firms using it in fall 2025. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports 66% and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses reports 76% of the owners they surveyed. Surveys ask different questions of different samples, so compare them with care.

Key takeaways

Adoption is rising but uneven. 23.8% of US businesses used AI in a recent two-week window and 27.6% expect to use it within six months (Census Bureau, Sep 2026). Only 14% of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses owners say AI is fully embedded in core operations (Mar 2026).
Most users report gains. Among small employer firms using AI, 71% said it increased productivity (Federal Reserve Banks, Mar 2026). 74% of small businesses in an Intuit QuickBooks survey said AI is boosting productivity (Jun 2025).
Employment has mostly not moved. 95.7% of businesses using AI said it caused no change in total employment (Census Bureau, 2026), and 87% of surveyed owners say AI augments rather than replaces employees (Goldman Sachs, Mar 2026).
Front-office AI use is still small. 7.6% of all US businesses used AI in customer service in the prior six months, and 40.0% of the businesses planning to use AI expect to use it there (Census Bureau, 2026).
People still want a person. 87% of customers say it is essential to be able to reach a human agent when a company uses generative AI for customer service (Gartner, Aug 2026).
Hiring and cash flow are the pressure points. 51% of owners reported few or no qualified applicants (NFIB, Jul 2026), and 56% of small businesses were owed money from unpaid invoices (Intuit QuickBooks, May 2025).

How many small businesses are there, and what do they struggle with?

The United States has 36,207,130 small businesses as of February 2026, which is 99.9% of all businesses. The entries below put the size of the market next to its top operating pressures.

36,207,130 small businesses in the United States, and 99.9% of businesses are small. U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Businesses 2026, published Feb 3, 2026.
62.3 million people work for US small businesses, 45.9% of private sector workers. SBA Office of Advocacy, FAQ 2026, published Feb 3, 2026.
57% of small employer firms named reaching customers and growing sales as an operational challenge in the prior 12 months, the most common answer. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 Small Business Credit Survey), published Mar 2026; fielded Sep 3 to Nov 14, 2025.
46% of small employer firms cited hiring or retaining qualified staff as an operational challenge, and 29% cited utilizing technology. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, published Mar 2026.
51% of small business owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill in July 2026, which is 85% of the owners who were hiring or trying to hire. NFIB, July 2026 Small Business Jobs Report, published Aug 2026.
36% of owners reported job openings they could not fill in July 2026, up 4 points from June and the highest reading since June 2025. NFIB, July 2026 Small Business Jobs Report, published Aug 2026.
61% of business owners say they are currently affected by labor shortages, and 43% plan to hire more over the next 12 months. Bank of America, 2025 Business Owner Report, published Nov 18, 2025; 819 small and 253 medium-sized business owners surveyed in September 2025.
35% of small businesses expect to increase staff in the next year. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Index Q2 2026, published Jul 15, 2026.

What share of small businesses use AI in 2026?

Depending on the survey, between 23.8% and 76% of small businesses report using AI, because each survey asks a different question of a different group. The entries are ordered from the broadest count of all US businesses to surveys of small-business owners.

23.8% of US businesses used AI in at least one business function in the two weeks ending Sep 6, 2026, and 27.6% expect to use it in the next six months. U.S. Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), national estimates, data release of Sep 24, 2026 (the file is refreshed every two weeks).
17.6% of businesses with 1 to 4 employees used AI in the two weeks before the survey, compared with 30.6% of businesses with 250 or more employees; 17.9% of all businesses. U.S. Census Bureau, BTOS AI Supplement tables, workbook dated Apr 2026.
46% of small employer firms currently use AI, 15% plan to start within 12 months, and 33% have no plans to use it. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, published Mar 2026; 5,248 employer firms answered the question.
Among small employer firms that use AI, 49% are experimenting, 44% have partially integrated it into some processes, and 7% have fully integrated it. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, published Mar 2026.
66% of small businesses now use AI, up 8 points from 2025 and from 23% in 2023. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2026 Empowering Small Business Report, published Oct 2, 2026.
76% of small businesses surveyed report currently using AI. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, published Mar 17, 2026; 1,256 program participants surveyed Jan 27 to Feb 4, 2026.
Only 14% of surveyed small businesses say AI is fully embedded in their core operations. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, published Mar 17, 2026.
68% of small businesses use AI regularly, up from 48% the previous summer, and 28% use it daily. Intuit QuickBooks, small business AI survey, published Jun 25, 2025; more than 2,200 US businesses with up to 100 employees, surveyed in April 2025.
77% of business owners have integrated AI into their operations in the past five years. Bank of America, 2025 Business Owner Report, published Nov 18, 2025.
65% of businesses surveyed already use AI. Paychex, AI survey of small businesses, published Mar 18, 2025.
39.2% of employed adults used generative AI for work in the past week by Q2 2026, up from 28.2% in Q3 2024. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED Blog, published Aug 27, 2026; Real-Time Population Survey of working-age adults.
30% of US employees use AI at work a few times a week or more, and 15% use it daily, as of May 2026. Gallup, Artificial Intelligence indicator, published Jan 2026 and updated since, per the page.
Only 25% of US employees say their organization has communicated a clear plan for integrating AI, while 47% say their organization has integrated AI tools. Gallup, Artificial Intelligence indicator, figures as of May 2026.
24% of leaders say their companies have deployed AI organization-wide, and 12% remain in pilot mode. Microsoft, 2025 Work Trend Index, published Apr 23, 2025; 31,000 workers across 31 countries.

What do small businesses use AI for?

Small businesses use AI most for writing and marketing, and far less for customer service and administration. Census and Federal Reserve data agree that front-office and back-office uses are still a minority of AI activity.

Among small employer firms that use AI, 83% use it for writing or marketing, 61% for individual productivity, and 51% for planning or analysis. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, published Mar 2026.
Among small employer firms that use AI, 38% use it for administrative business functions, 29% for customer service, and 21% for process automation. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, published Mar 2026.
7.6% of all US businesses used AI in customer service in the prior six months, 8.1% in management and administration, and 6.6% in finance and accounting. U.S. Census Bureau, BTOS AI Supplement tables, workbook dated Apr 2026.
Among businesses that plan to use AI in the next six months, 40.0% expect to use it in customer service and 38.2% in management and administration. U.S. Census Bureau, BTOS AI Supplement tables, workbook dated Apr 2026.
Among businesses whose employees used generative AI, 85.4% used it for writing or editing documents, emails or communications and 15.5% for customer support. U.S. Census Bureau, BTOS AI Supplement tables, workbook dated Apr 2026.
Small businesses use AI for marketing (43%), customer service (36%), administrative tasks (33%), data processing (32%) and bookkeeping (29%). Intuit QuickBooks, small business AI survey, published Jun 25, 2025.
59% of finance leaders reported using AI in their finance function in 2025, in a survey of 183 CFOs and senior finance leaders taken May through June 2025. Gartner, Finance AI adoption survey, published Nov 18, 2025.

Does AI make small businesses more productive?

Most small businesses that use AI report productivity gains, though the gains reported for revenue and sales are smaller. Self-reported time savings are approximate, as the St. Louis Fed notes.

Among small employer firms that use AI, 71% said it increased productivity, 39% said it improved the quality of goods and services, and 31% reported higher sales. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, published Mar 2026.
74% of small businesses say AI is boosting productivity, up from 46% the previous summer. Intuit QuickBooks, small business AI survey, published Jun 25, 2025.
24% of small businesses said work days are shorter thanks to AI, compared with 11% who said work days are longer. Intuit QuickBooks, small business AI survey, published Jun 25, 2025.
93% of small businesses using AI say it has had a positive impact, and 84% cite increased efficiency and productivity as the primary benefit. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, published Mar 17, 2026.
67% of small business owners surveyed expect AI to increase revenue. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, published Mar 17, 2026.
Of survey respondents using AI today, 66% report increased productivity. Paychex, AI survey of small businesses, published Mar 18, 2025.
Generative AI saved 2.2% of work hours by Q2 2026, up from 1.6%, and assisted 6.3% of work hours, up from 4.1%. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED Blog, published Aug 27, 2026; self-reported.
Access to a generative AI assistant raised the number of issues resolved per hour by 14% on average and by 34% for novice and low-skilled workers, in a study of 5,179 customer support agents. National Bureau of Economic Research, Generative AI at Work (Brynjolfsson, Li and Raymond), issued Apr 2023, revised Nov 2023.

Is AI replacing workers at small businesses?

Not in the surveys so far: 95.7% of US businesses using AI said it caused no change in their total employment. The BLS projects declines for several office-support jobs over 2025 to 2035, which is a projection and not a measured effect of AI.

95.7% of businesses using AI said AI caused no change in total employment, 2.3% said it increased employment, and 2.0% said it decreased it. U.S. Census Bureau, BTOS AI Supplement tables, workbook dated Apr 2026.
Among businesses using AI, 43.7% used it to supplement or enhance a task performed by an employee, and 10.1% used it to perform a task previously done by an employee. U.S. Census Bureau, BTOS AI Supplement tables, workbook dated Apr 2026.
87% of small business owners say AI augments rather than replaces employees. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, published Mar 17, 2026.
47% of small businesses say AI is creating jobs today, while 6% say it is enabling headcount reductions. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2026 Empowering Small Business Report, published Oct 2, 2026.
Receptionists: median pay was $38,010 a year ($18.27 an hour) in 2025, there were 947,500 jobs, and employment is projected to decline 2% from 2025 to 2035. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, page last modified Aug 27, 2026.
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks: median pay was $50,670 a year ($24.36 an hour) in 2025, there were 1,532,400 jobs, and employment is projected to decline 6% from 2025 to 2035. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, page last modified Aug 27, 2026.
Secretaries and administrative assistants: median pay was $48,310 a year in 2025, there were 3,515,600 jobs, and employment is projected to decline 2% from 2025 to 2035. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, page last modified Aug 27, 2026.

What do customers expect when they call or write to a business?

Customers expect fast, always-on service, and most still want a way to reach a person. The entries below come from customer surveys and call-data benchmarks.

74% of consumers now expect 24/7 service due to AI, and 74% are frustrated when they have to repeat information. Zendesk, CX Trends 2026, published Nov 18, 2025; consumers in general, not only small-business customers.
52% of callers to home services businesses speak with a person, and 65% when calls shorter than 15 seconds are excluded. Invoca, 2026 Home Services Lead Conversion Benchmarks Report, published Jul 2026; Invoca platform call data.
87% of customers say it is essential for companies using generative AI for customer service to provide an option to reach a human agent, and 50% say interactions are easier when companies use it. Gartner, customer survey of 3,566 B2B and B2C customers, published Aug 4, 2026; surveyed Feb and Mar 2026.
Gartner predicts that by 2029 agentic AI will autonomously resolve 80% of common customer service issues without human intervention, leading to a 30% reduction in operational costs. Gartner, press release, published Mar 5, 2025; a prediction, not a survey result.

What holds small businesses back from AI, and what does admin cost them?

The most common reason is that businesses see no fit for their work, followed by gaps in knowledge, security worries and accuracy. Separately, late payments are a drag on the cash flow that pays for new tools.

Among businesses not planning to use AI in the next six months, 61.6% said AI is not applicable to their business, 22.0% cited lack of knowledge of AI capabilities, 20.7% cited privacy or security concerns, and 6.9% said it is too expensive. U.S. Census Bureau, BTOS AI Supplement tables, workbook dated Apr 2026.
Among firms that use or plan to use AI, 46% cited accuracy (for example bias or misinformation) as a challenge and 43% cited adapting tools to meet business needs. Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, published Mar 2026.
73% of small business owners say they would benefit from additional access to AI training and implementation resources. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, published Mar 17, 2026.
Six in ten small businesses worry about increased litigation and compliance costs from a patchwork of state privacy and AI laws. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2026 Empowering Small Business Report, published Oct 2, 2026.
56% of small businesses reported being owed money from unpaid invoices, averaging $17.5K per business. Intuit QuickBooks, 2025 US Small Business Late Payments Report, published May 28, 2025; 2,487 US small businesses surveyed in January 2025.
47% of respondents said a significant portion of their invoices were overdue by more than 30 days. Intuit QuickBooks, 2025 US Small Business Late Payments Report, published May 28, 2025.
Businesses with many overdue invoices reported cash flow difficulties at 50%, compared with 34% of those with fewer late payments. Intuit QuickBooks, 2025 US Small Business Late Payments Report, published May 28, 2025.

How were these statistics checked?

Each figure was read from the page or data file it links to, and anything that could not be confirmed on the source itself was left out. Figures are reported as the source states them, with the source's own wording on who was surveyed and when.

Census Bureau figures come from the published BTOS Excel files, and the national file is refreshed every two weeks, so a later download will show newer numbers.
Surveys differ in who answers (all businesses, employer firms, program participants or owner panels), so two adoption rates are not directly comparable.
Predictions are labeled as predictions, and consumer-wide surveys are labeled as such.

To suggest a correction or add a source, email team@teamshift.io.

FAQ

What percentage of small businesses use AI in 2026?

It depends on the survey. The Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey found 23.8% of US businesses using AI in the two weeks ending September 6, 2026, the Federal Reserve Banks found 46% of small employer firms using AI in fall 2025, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports 66%, and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses reports 76% of the owners it surveyed.

Is AI replacing employees at small businesses?

The surveys so far say mostly no. In the Census Bureau's AI Supplement, 95.7% of businesses using AI said it caused no change in total employment, and 87% of owners in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses survey say AI augments rather than replaces employees.

What do small businesses use AI for most?

Writing and marketing. In the Federal Reserve Banks' 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 83% of small employer firms using AI use it for writing or marketing, 38% for administrative business functions and 29% for customer service.

What is the biggest barrier to small business AI adoption?

For businesses that do not plan to use AI, the most common reason in the Census Bureau's AI Supplement is that AI is not applicable to their business (61.6%), followed by lack of knowledge of AI capabilities (22.0%) and privacy or security concerns (20.7%). Among firms using or planning to use AI, the Federal Reserve Banks found accuracy (46%) and adapting tools to meet business needs (43%) were the top challenges.

Do customers still want to reach a person?

Yes. A Gartner survey of 3,566 customers, conducted in February and March 2026, found 87% say it is essential for companies using generative AI for customer service to provide an option to reach a human agent.

Where does the data on this page come from?

From the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve Banks, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NFIB, Gartner, Gallup, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, Bank of America, Intuit QuickBooks, Paychex, Microsoft, Zendesk, Invoca and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Each entry links to its source and gives its publication date.