Entertainment and recreation SMBs report the highest use of AI
Some small to medium businesses (SMBs) are already thinking about the ways that artificial intelligence could be applied to their businesses, to help them deal with challenges including inflation and cybersecurity—but they also have a number of concerns, particularly about security, according to Verizon’s fourth annual survey of SMBs.
Few SMBs say that they are already using AI: only about 14%, according to the survey. Those who are already using AI are most likely to be in the entertainment and recreation sector, followed by retail and construction/contracting.
However, a significant percentage of SMBs—35%—say that they are aware of how their businesses could be supported by AI. That’s a pretty close split with the 40% of SMB decision-makers who said that they don’t know how AI could be used in their business (12% had no opinion).
When asked where they would consider using AI, SMBs indicated the following top use cases where they were not yet using, but were interested in applying AI:
-Inventory management and supply chain operations: 37%
-Social media/marketing: 36%
-Product or service recommendations to customers: 35%
-Data analysis: 35%
-Customer service or personal digital assistants: 32%.
Overall, the use of AI for social media and/or marketing was the most popular use case, 50% of those surveyed saying that they were either already using AI in that area (14%) or were considering it (36%).
“The fact that nearly half of small and midsize businesses are either using or are aware of the AI-specific use cases that can drive their companies forward highlights what we hear from our customers every day regarding their desire to stay ahead of the pace of change to drive their business forward,” said Aparna Khurjekar, Chief Revenue Officer for business markets and SaaS at Verizon Business.
What are the barriers or concerns of SMBs as they contemplate AI? Nearly half of respondents were worried about integrating AI solutions into their business (45%), and slightly fewer (43%) were concerned about AI’s potential to open their business to more cybersecurity risks. Despite those concerns, however, 37% of SMBs surveyed said that they were currently exploring the feasibility of AI for their business.
Verizon based the analysis on survey responses from 681 small and midsize businesses across the United States during August of this year; the survey was conducted by Morning Consult.
In addition to AI, 5G and technology use, the survey asked SMB decision-makers about their perspective on the economy, the outlook for their business and their current challenges. Among the biggest challenges that SMBs face right now are related to both inflationary pressures and their workforce. Nearly half of SMBs reported that they were having trouble filling open positions. In contrast, 19% said that they had implemented layoffs, though 33% said that they had reduced current employees’ hours.
A respectable percentage of SMBs are already turning to technology to help navigate their challenges. Eighteen percent of SMBs surveyed said that they had implemented some kind of new technology system to compensate for a shortage of employees. Twenty-eight percent reported that they had integrated new technology or devices to help attract and retain workers, and 27% said that they had added tools for remote collaboration among employees.
Verizon released the survey as part of its Small Business Days this week, during which it offers special deals, “tech checks” and focus on support both in-store and through its Verizon Small Business Digital Ready portal, which provides online resources including advice, tips, courses and grant information for SMBs, and is part of the company’s goal to support a million small businesses as of this year.
