A recent survey by Bluevine found that 68% of small business owners believe advances in AI will be good for their business, but 82% have faced at least one barrier when trying to use AI more deeply. The biggest roadblocks are data security and privacy concerns, with 33% of owners citing these as major issues.

AI Adoption Among Small Businesses

Despite these concerns, many small businesses are already using AI tools. 74% of owners are using or actively testing AI tools, with 39% using AI for data analysis and business insights, and 37% using AI for marketing and sales. However, only 22% of owners are completely confident that AI can do low-level business tasks without human supervision.

The survey also found that small businesses are using AI across different areas of their businesses, including automating operations, customer service, and financial management. Among Bluevine customers, NLP and LLMs account for 83% of all AI transactions.

Challenges and Opportunities

While AI has the potential to save small businesses time and money, many owners are struggling to get value out of these tools. 24% of owners say they haven’t seen a return on their investment in AI, and 20% say they don’t see enough value from AI yet. However, for those who are using AI effectively, the benefits are clear. Nearly half of small businesses using AI report a return on their investment, and 48% of owners save at least half a workday every week using AI.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.