New data has revealed that small business owners are embracing AI to fuel their innovation and boost their plans for growth, with the tech moving from a novel concept to an essential tool.

After polling 500 small business owners across the UK, design platform VistaPrint found that over half (57%) are already using AI, with 27% now relying on AI tools every day to help them run their business, and 45% using AI at least a few times a week.

A third (34%) already credits AI for improving their company’s efficiency, with the most common use of the technology being support for research and data analysis, allowing business owners to ramp up their ambitions. 

Two in five (40%) small businesses are using AI to gain insights to help them compete with larger industry players, while over a third (35%) are using the tech for day-to-day communications, such as to help write emails, while 29% are applying it to customer service tasks, hoping to save both time and money.

According to VistaPrint’s data, for many small business owners, the biggest benefit of AI is improved efficiency, cited by 34% of respondents, while others point to its ability to reduce business costs (14%), enhance customer service (11%), and streamline decision-making (9%). 

In total, 84% of smaller businesses report that AI has had a positive impact on their business, with sole traders in particular seeing results, as 79% have reported that AI helped them run their company more effectively. 

“As a leading supporter of small businesses, it’s important to highlight the tools and advancements that small business owners can use to grow,” Sabine Levellier, VP of marketing at VistaPrint.

“More small business owners are turning to emerging technologies to scale their operations, and AI, in particular, is enabling them to work smarter and grow faster.”

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VistPrint’s study is backed up by recent research showing the value that AI can bring for smaller enterprises. For example, a study conducted by the University of St Andrews found that adopting AI could bring SMEs productivity gains of between 27% and 133%.

However, despite the flood of smaller businesses turning to AI, recent research from YouGov suggests that many across the UK are still holding back.

The polling firm found that although 86% of UK SME owners are familiar with AI, privacy, scepticism, and ethics concerns are stymying its adoption, while even among those using it, almost half worry that AI could negatively affect their employees.