AI is no longer a future trend for small businesses, it’s already here, and many are using it in practical, meaningful ways.

We surveyed 686 small business owners across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania to understand how small businesses are engaging with AI, what’s holding them back, and what support they need to adopt it safely and confidently.

Small businesses are engaging with AI more than we think

One of the biggest takeaways from the report is that AI adoption is already widespread:

• 89% of small businesses say AI is relevant to their industry
• 95% have already used or tried AI in their business
• 78% say AI is a priority or important for their business

This reflects a sector that’s curious, motivated, and actively looking for ways to reduce workload and stay competitive.

AI is helping small businesses save time and extend capacity

When business owners described how they’re using AI, the responses were grounded in real day-to-day pressures - especially time, admin, and capacity.

Many businesses see AI as a way to “help my business by assisting with basic tasks” or keep the business moving when resources are tight.

As one respondent put it:

“Anything that saves me time is a blessing. Admin is overwhelming.”

Another shared:

“AI helps me keep the business moving when I am short on time.”

ChatGPT-style tools dominate AI usage

While AI adoption is high, most use is concentrated in a narrow set of tools and tasks.

The report found that 89% of businesses are using AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot. These tools are often used for drafting content, summarising information, generating ideas, and supporting decision-making.

The second biggest use case is marketing and content creation, with 47% using AI for marketing or social media (such as Canva Magic Studio or Jasper).

One business owner explained:

“I use AI to write newsletters, socials and emails.”

Overall, marketing and communication appear to be the easiest entry point into AI for small businesses.

What’s stopping businesses from going further?

Even with strong interest, the biggest barriers are clear, and they’re not about resistance to innovation.

The report found the top barrier to AI adoption is data privacy and security (72%).

The second biggest barrier is a lack of skills or knowledge (50%).

Business owners also raised concerns about mistakes and accuracy, with many feeling they need to double-check outputs before trusting them:

“My problem is trust. It makes mistakes, so I always have to verify everything.”

These concerns highlight that small businesses want to use AI responsibly, but they need clearer guidance and trusted support to build confidence.

The support small businesses want most

When asked what would help them adopt AI more effectively, businesses overwhelmingly asked for practical, hands-on support:

• 57% want training to build practical AI skills
• 47% want workshops on AI use cases for their industry
• 39% want access to AI-ready tools/templates

This shows that most businesses don’t want AI “done for them”, they want to build capability in-house, at a pace that feels safe and manageable.

Want the full report?

This blog is just a snapshot of the findings. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the full Small Business AI Readiness Report via email, including deeper insights, charts, and recommendations for small businesses looking to adopt AI with confidence.

👉 Subscribe to receive the full report to your inbox.