By SBE Council at 25 April, 2026, 10:24 pm
By Karen Kerrigan –
Artificial intelligence is no longer experimental for small businesses. According to SBE Council’s 2026 Small Business Tech Use Survey, 82% of small business employers have invested in AI tools and they are rapidly being embedded across daily functions and workflows. In fact, AI has become essential to competitiveness and growth as small business owners have signaled they will continue to invest in tools over the next twelve months.
Across the market, a consistent set of AI tools has emerged as category leaders for small businesses. These include tools used for business research, content creation, automation, customer engagement, and financial management. Of course, various other tools are being tested and used to support important functions, such as pricing, cybersecurity, HR management and more. The typical small business is now using a median of five tools, which reflects a growing “stack” approach where tools serve different functions across the enterprise.
The AI Stack in Action: What Small Businesses Are Doing
SBE Council’s survey research finds that most small businesses are building AI “stacks” that combine leading tools to meet specific needs. The top areas include:
● General business research
● Marketing and content creation (most common use case)
● Customer service and communications (chatbots, email responses)
● Sales support and lead generation
● Administrative automation (scheduling, data entry, workflow management)
● Financial management and forecasting
The most successful small businesses are not relying on one tool. They are building AI ecosystems that prioritize fixing pain points and automation needs, support the key goal of driving and sustaining revenue, and then adding or testing new tools in a thoughtful way that build upon initial success and comfort with AI.
1.) Core AI Assistants: The “Hub” of the Stack
Why small businesses use it:
● Drafting marketing copy, proposals, and emails.
● Brainstorming and business planning.
● Customer support responses.
AI assistants are often the entry point for adoption and serve as the connective tissue across multiple business functions. While ChatGPT dominates the market, similar tools such as Claude and Gemini are also widely used. The AI Assistant is a flexible, low-cost “AI employee” that supports a broad range of tasks.
Why small businesses use it:
● Automates workflows in Word, Excel, Outlook.
● Summarizes data and generates reports.
● The tool embeds AI into everyday tools, driving productivity gains.
2.) Marketing and Content Creation: Affordable Creativity and Expertise
Why small businesses use it:
● Social media content, ads, presentations.
● No design expertise required.
Marketing is the #1 use case for AI among small businesses, according to SBE Council’s tech-use survey. Small business owners report improved customer reach, engagement, and revenue generation.
Why small businesses use them:
● Blog posts, product descriptions, ad copy.
● Consistent brand voice at scale.
AI is dramatically lowering the cost of customer acquisition. In addition to the above-mentioned tools, small businesses using e-commerce and social media platforms – the top ones (according to SBE Council’s survey) include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Amazon, X, and Shopify – also have access to various AI solutions offered by these platforms. Support includes writing assistance, ad creation (including video generation), and a broad array other functions that help with customer acquisition and insights. AI enhancements through tech platforms are upping small business presence, outreach, and professionalism. That means more opportunity and growth for small businesses.
3.) Automation and Workflow: The Productivity Engine
Why small businesses use it:
● Connects apps (CRM, e-commerce, email).
● Automates repetitive processes.
Why small businesses use it:
● Knowledge management.
● AI-assisted project planning.
According to SBE Council’s tech-use survey, administrative automation is one of the fastest-growing uses of AI, and with good reason. Saving time and money – both the owner’s and employee’s time – is translating into cost savings, productivity gains, and allowing teams to focus on “high value” work that boosts growth, competitiveness, and revenue.
4.) Customer Service and Sales: Revenue and Retention
Why small businesses use it:
● AI-powered CRM and marketing automation.
● Lead scoring and sales insights.
Why small businesses use it:
● 24/7 customer support via chatbots.
● Faster response times.
Customer engagement and management tools are a top-three AI use case, particularly for small businesses selling online or across multiple channels. These tools help to elevate the customer experience and to better identify customer needs and trends.
5.) Finance and Operations: Smarter Decision-Making
Why small businesses use them:
● Automated bookkeeping and invoicing.
● Real-time financial insights.
While adoption is still emerging, financial AI tools are among the most impactful for long-term business sustainability and growth. AI tools that work to elevate small business finance from a transactional role to a strategic function will help to improve margins and decision-making that supports growth.
What’s Hot: AI Pricing Tools – A Fast-Rising Growth Driver
One of the most important trends is the rise of AI-supported pricing tools (dynamic pricing and algorithmic pricing tools) that are being embraced by small businesses. SBE Council’s tech-use survey finds, for example, that 65% of small business are either using or plan to implement pricing tools.
Examples:
SBE Council data finds:
● A growing number of small businesses (35%) are already using AI-supported pricing tools.
● Among small business users, 97% report positive revenue impacts through better price optimization.
● 94% of small business owners report that pricing tools have made their business more competitive.
● 90% of AI-supported pricing tool users indicate they are likely to increase usage in the next 12 months.
● A significant pipeline of future adopters indicates pricing tools are one of the fastest-growth AI categories.
Pricing is one of the most powerful – but historically underutilized – levers in small business profitability. AI is making a complex and labor-intensive process simple and time-sensitive. (See the Small Business Insider blog post, “AI Supported Pricing is Helping Small Businesses Compete: Lawmakers Should Not Mess with That Advantage”)
AI Takeaways
1.) Small businesses are building AI “stacks”.
Again, SBE Council’s March 2026 data finds the average small business uses a median of five AI tools (and they plan on adding more), combining assistants, marketing platforms, and automation tools.
2.) Marketing and automation are leading adoption.
The most common uses (outside of general business research) – content creation, marketing and sales support, and workflow automation – are delivering immediate ROI in time savings and customer reach.
3.) Emerging frontiers like pricing are unlocking revenue growth.
AI is moving beyond efficiency into active revenue optimization, particularly through pricing tools.
4.) AI effectiveness is proven by small-business investment behavior.
93% of small businesses using AI plan to continue investing in it in the next year. And, 62% report they will increase AI-related spending. This is one of the clearest indicators of ROI.
Where Small Businesses Should Start with AI
For small business owners still exploring AI, start simple and focus on pain points. Begin with a core AI assistant like ChatGPT for research, writing, brainstorming, and customer communication, then layer in one high-impact tool based on your biggest need, which may be customer service, marketing, pricing, workflow automation, or financial visibility. For small business owners using e-commerce or social media platforms, begin to test and use the AI tools provided by the platforms.
The goal is not to adopt everything at once, but to build an AI “stack” gradually, testing what delivers the most time savings or revenue impact. SBE Council data shows that the businesses experiencing the greatest returns are those that experiment, iterate, and expand their use of AI strategically.
Also, talk to small business peers and ask what they are using and how it is working. Our latest research finds that “peers in my industry” is the leading go-to source helping business owners decide what tools they might want to try. As noted in the survey, there are a wide variety of other go-to sources business owners turn to for advice and support such as professional and industry associations, online educational platforms and journals, business development and training centers, their own family members, and mentors.
The most useful AI tools for small businesses are not just powerful – they are practical, affordable, and scalable.
Stacking it Up
AI is significantly expanding the capacity of small businesses. Our survey data makes it clear that small business owners are deploying AI to compete more effectively, reduce costs, innovate faster, and reach broader or more refined markets to drive revenue growth.
The shift to AI is transforming how small businesses operate. That shift is fueling successful entrepreneurship now and will positively shape it in the future.
Karen Kerrigan is President & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. Karen was assisted by ChatGPT (partially) in helping to draft this article. The dashes – have always been her own.
