Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) number in the millions, are found in every city and town, work in every industry, and sell anything and everything you can imagine (and some things you can’t imagine). In this report, we briefly review how different sub-groups of SMBs have dramatically different uses of and attitudes about AI in their workplaces.

Using data from a survey of 2,000 leaders of SMBs defined as having 500 full-time employees (FTEs) or fewer, we investigated several major factors correlated with using artificial intelligence (AI) in SMB workplaces. We found that younger SMB leaders, SMBs with more employees, and SMBs that sell physical goods are much more likely to understand and use AI and see its current and future importance than their counterparts. We also found that urban-based SMBs, SMB leaders of color, and male SMB leaders are more likely to understand and use AI and see its current and future importance than their counterparts.

With AI seemingly being such a major component of future success, SMBs and leaders that fit the description of small, rural, services-oriented businesses are less likely to seize this opportunity and more likely to lag behind their counterparts. On a more positive note, though, this research helps shine a spotlight on groups that are more likely to lag behind their peers and are thus prime targets for AI-related training and educational opportunities. These results have implications for lawmakers, marketing and sales employees in the AI space, technology training, education professionals, and the broad innovation economy.