AI spreads across the main street and transforms small and medium-sized American businesses

National conversations around AI are often stuck with breakthroughs in large corporations and Silicon Valley, but the impact of AI is also real on Main Street. AI is rapidly transforming small and medium-sized enterprises, and shifts not only increase productivity, but directly impact staffing decisions and day-to-day operations. Small business owners across the US are actively embracing AI, and their future plans reveal a clear commitment to the technology.

Our latest quarterly CNBC | Surveymonkey Small Business Survey reveals a majority (71%) of owners currently using AI plans. Overall, four in 10 (37%) small business owners use AI to help them run their businesses, with 75% of these employers saying they have already had a positive impact.

Young entrepreneurs lead the rates. When asked about using AI to help run or operate a business, a similar percentage of Gen Z and Millennial (59% and 51% respectively) have reported current use by SME owners.

This gap extends to investment. Young people want to increase their investment in AI tools and services over the next 12 months. 59% of GENZ and 55% of Millennials are Gen X’s 35% and 25% of Boomers.

This positive attitude among the next generation of business leaders reflects different feelings about the overall impact of AI, not just adoption rates. 89% of Gen Z and millennial small business owners who already use AI report positive impacts. For these younger generations, AI is more than just a tool. It is becoming a strategic advantage.

This is in slight contrast to older generations, with 74% of GEN X respondents reporting positive impacts from AI and 59% among boomers. In particular, Gen X (25%) and Boomer (36%) have a higher percentage of owners who have not yet decided on the overall impact.

The changing role of AI in the workforce

Beyond efficiency and investment, the rise of AI is restructuring the small business workforce itself. This technology has impacted personnel, with half (54%) of SMEs using AI sharing already reducing their number of employees as a result of AI (20%) or in the future (35%).

The youngest business owners, Gen Z and Millennials, are most likely to report changes in staffing. 69% say AI is already affecting company personnel. The older generation reports a slow pace of personnel changes, at 50% of X and 36% of Boomers.

The data makes one thing clear. AI is beginning to restructure the structure of small and medium-sized business operations. The way different generations engage in these changes could indicate a deeper shift in workplace culture and leadership norms.

– By Eric Johnson, CEO of Surveymonkey