The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) recently released findings from its new Small Business and Technology Survey, based on a nationwide survey of small business owners. It asked about what types of technologies they are using and the speed to which they are incorporating them into their operations.

The survey looked at business use of new or significantly improved technology, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The findings revealed that adoption of new technology is often difficult for businesses, which may be affecting their ability to grow and compete.

“Small business owners are our nation’s top source of innovation, yet many small businesses struggle to keep up with technological advancements,” commented Holly Wade, Executive Director of the NFIB Research Center. “Use of updated technology contributes to competitiveness and productivity, and this report offers unique insight into the considerations small businesses of varying sizes and industries encounter when they adopt new technologies. This includes the rapid proliferation of AI and how technology impacts business operations now and their anticipation of how it will impact them in the future.”

"The rapid proliferation of AI technologies has altered the way business owners work," the NFIB added. "However, the implementation of AI technologies is still limited among the smallest businesses. While most small business owners have yet to adopt AI technology into their business, they generally anticipate it evolving into a more important role in their industry and in operating their business."

The survey found that nearly a quarter (24 percent) of small employers currently use AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Grammarly, Canva, Lunmen5, etc. The numbers varied greatly by company size, ranging from 21 percent uptake for single-digit employee firms to 48 percent at those with 50+ employees.

Twenty-nine percent of those polled said they are using or planning to use AI technology for communications (email, memos, documents).  Twenty-seven percent reported using it for marketing or advertising. Fourteen percent reported they use it for business analysis or predictive analysis, while 9 percent reported customer service. Four percent said they use it for accounting, process automation, and cybersecurity or fraud detection.

Many businesses are finding AI technologies to improve productivity and quality of products/services. Take a look at the chart below.

The survey also found that 63 percent of all small employers believe the utilization of AI technologies in their industry in the next five years will be important to some degree. Twelve percent said it will be extremely important, 21 percent reported it will be moderately important, and 30 percent said it will be mildly important. Only 15 percent believe it will not be important at all. Twenty-three percent said they didn’t know.

Nearly all (98 percent) of small employers using AI technology reported that its use has had no impact on the number of employees at their business. It will be interesting to see if that number changes significantly with future surveys.