Is AI Coming for Small Business? How Small Businesses are Approaching AI Integration

A recent report by the US Chamber of Commerce on technology engagement reveals a troubling tension faced by small businesses. The report says AI adoption has advanced rapidly in the sector, with the percentage of small businesses using generative AI increasing from 23% in 2023 to 58% in 2025. Yet, it also reports that small business owners say technology needs are a top business challenge, second only to inflation.

For small businesses, embracing technology is not up for debate, as the Chamber of Commerce report shows. Small business founders clearly see the value of technology innovations. In many cases, tech tools give them the power to compete against organizations that have more money, people, and experience.

But knowing how to tap into those resources effectively can be challenging. Small businesses have the advantage of being flexible, agile, and adaptable, pivoting quickly when opportunities arise or initiatives prove to be unfruitful. Investing in a technology like AI, which requires a good deal of time, attention, and organizational input, can lock a business into a course that limits its flexibility. In addition, AI adds expense, compliance duties, and cybersecurity risks.

The challenge small businesses face is finding a healthy balance as they develop an AI integration strategy. Until the strategy is mapped out, small businesses can feel like they have one foot in and one foot out, leveraging AI to improve efficiency while also being painfully aware of technology challenges they can’t overcome.

For those struggling to find the right path and worried that their lack of direction will cause them to lose pace, the following are some steps that can help to fine-tune your AI integration strategy.

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Understand AI’s strengths and focus your efforts on leveraging them.

If you believe the hype, there’s nothing AI can’t do. The latest ads tell you that AI-driven platforms can make sure you always have the inventory you need, tapping into social media trends, weather patterns, and your company’s internal historical sales data to know exactly what consumer demand will look like at any time. If you have employees, they say it can monitor their activity to find, analyze, and fix productivity gaps. And if your employees aren’t cutting it, AI agents promise to run entire departments for you.

Maybe all of that is achievable for some companies with a lot of money and time to commit to developing platforms, but probably not for a small business with limited resources. So, small businesses that want to get a healthy return on their investment should focus on deploying AI in ways that maximize its impact by leveraging its strengths.

Data analytics is one of the top strengths AI brings to business, and one that small businesses can leverage in a number of ways. Integration of this capability can begin with basic processes, such as allowing AI to assess and sort incoming email messages. By tapping into more powerful platforms, small businesses can use AI to personalize marketing efforts by analyzing Point of Sale data and optimizing delivery routes to speed up delivery times and reduce the need for delivery staff. 

Overall, deploying AI in data analytics enables small businesses to develop operational strategies grounded in actual company data rather than relying on industry best practices. And it enhances small businesses’ agility by allowing them to see and understand data in real time.

See also: AI is Ready for Business, but are Businesses Ready for AI?

Use AI to amplify your current team’s performance

Statistics show that more than half of workers in the US are worried that AI will make them obsolete. In the small business sector, however, studies have clearly shown that this is not the case. According to a recent report, 98 percent of small business leaders say integrating AI into their operations has not reduced their employee headcount.

You can put your employees’ fears to rest by using AI to amplify their efforts, rather than take over for them. This can begin by using AI to do the busy work that keeps employees from focusing on high-impact tasks. Utilize AI platforms to record and summarize meetings, prioritize inboxes, and automate workflows.

To take performance to the next level, you can use AI platforms to add to employees’ skillsets. For example, AI can give your customer service reps the capacity to provide multilingual support. For small companies engaging in e-commerce, real-time AI translation platforms help you move into new markets.

AI’s natural language processing capabilities can enhance a business’s analytical capabilities by streamlining the query-and-response process. AI does away with the need for complex coding or creating extensive spreadsheets. Through natural language querying, employees can simply ask for the information they need — “What products in our health and beauty line did the best leading up to Christmas last year?” — and receive a response they can easily understand.

See also: Agentic AI Marks a Turning Point for Business – But Not Without Real-Time Dynamic Access to Business Data

Don’t deploy AI in an area where a human employee is needed

AI can automate many things, but not everything. Small businesses that aren’t clear on the areas where humans still need to play a leading role can end up losing control of key operations and damaging customer relationships.

Customer service and support is one of the areas where humans should continue to be involved. AI-powered chatbots may be able to answer some preliminary questions posed by customers, but small businesses should always provide an option to talk to a real person. According to a recent survey, 86 percent of consumers say excellent customer service is built upon human connection and empathy, rather than the speed and efficiency AI can bring to the process.

Quality assurance is another area where human engagement is essential. AI can conduct assessments, identify connections, and make suggestions, but unleashing it to make decisions on its own is risky. Putting humans in the position to evaluate the quality of the output AI is providing and to pump the brakes when necessary can help prevent companies from being burned by technology that has gone off the rails.

AI is definitely coming for small businesses, and savvy small business leaders will prioritize finding impactful ways to integrate it. As they seek to identify those ways, small business leaders should stay focused on AI’s strengths, explore how it can boost employee performance, and avoid letting the technology have the last word in any area of operations.