For years, starting and running a small business has meant doing more with less. As a founder, you are often the marketing, finance and customer service team all in one, without the resources large organisations have easy access to. This means time is one of your most precious commodities. There are only so many hours in a day.
This is why the opportunity presented by AI is so significant for small businesses. It isn’t simply another technology or piece of software for entrepreneurs to adopt. AI is making it easier than ever to start and grow a business and fundamentally transform how a founder runs their company.
We know small businesses have been keen to adopt platforms like ChatGPT, especially for content and marketing. We recently conducted research with Accio, Alibaba.com’s agentic AI platform for businesses, and found seven in ten (70%) small business owners are somewhat or very confident using AI. Among those already using AI, 74% are using it for content or marketing, making this by far the most common application.
However, our research also highlighted that fewer than half (47%) are using AI regularly, suggesting there is still significant untapped potential. With much of the adoption so far centred around generative AI for content creation and marketing, it’s clear these platforms have created an accessible entry point and demonstrated how quickly AI can make everyday tasks easier.
AI is helping small business owners create, but there is enormous scope to use it to analyse, make decisions and organise workflow. For founders juggling every aspect of their business, the biggest opportunity AI presents is giving them back the most precious commodity: time.
Our research showed that only around one third of businesses using AI are applying it to data analysis or reporting, while approximately 5% are using it for supply-chain management. It’s the next step into agentic AI that could make an even bigger difference for small businesses.
Where generative AI predominantly responds to a request by producing an output, agentic AI has the potential to help undertake more complex, multi-stage tasks. Rather than simply providing information, it can support an entrepreneur through a process: researching options, comparing information, identifying potential solutions and helping move a task towards completion.
There is clearly an appetite to explore what comes next, with 68% of small businesses telling us they want to learn more about the potential of agentic AI. But enthusiasm from founders must be matched with the right support.
As the Chancellor, John Healey, said at Labour Conference last month: “AI is the greatest innovation of our time.” But we do need to ensure we are equipped to deal with the risks. As technology becomes more sophisticated, government, technology providers and business support groups all play a crucial role in providing practical training, clear guidance and support to ensure UK entrepreneurs are equipped to harness the benefits of AI safely and take their business to the next level.
We do not need every small business owner to become an AI expert. We need to ensure they have the confidence, skills and understanding of how to use these tools effectively. If we can get this right, AI has the potential not only to transform existing small businesses, but to help a new generation of entrepreneurs turn an idea into a thriving business.
Key takeaways
- Seven in ten (70%) small business owners are somewhat or very confident using AI, but fewer than half (47%) use it regularly, leaving significant untapped potential.
- Adoption so far is centred on generative AI for content and marketing (74% of AI users), while only around a third use it for data analysis or reporting and about 5% for supply-chain management.
- Agentic AI can support founders through complex, multi-stage tasks such as researching options, comparing information and moving work towards completion, giving them back time.
- 68% of small businesses want to learn more about agentic AI, but that enthusiasm needs to be matched with practical training, clear guidance and support from government, technology providers and business support groups.
