State of Small Businesses: Surge in AI, Cybersecurity

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are aggressively adopting technology to drive market growth and operational efficiency. The surge is fueled by increasingly accessible artificial intelligence (AI) tools and the need to update cybersecurity solutions, according to the State of Small Business Survey presented by Verizon Business and conducted by Morning Consult.

“Small business owners are entering a new chapter of digital business with the rise of AI,” says Aparna Khurjekar, chief revenue officer, business markets and SaaS, Verizon Business.

Key takeaways:

• In the last year, almost half of small businesses (47%) implemented new technology platforms to bolster security for their increasingly digital operations.
• Today, 38% of SMBs are leveraging AI in one capacity or another. More than one-quarter (28%) are using AI for marketing and social media, while 24% are using the technology for written communications. Another 25% are using AI to boost their cybersecurity efforts.
• Meanwhile, SMBs are exploring AI for employee recruitment and retention, with 56% believing AI can help their business offset any pain points caused by reduced or frozen headcount and another 53% believing AI can help the business retain current staff.
• While more than two-thirds of decision makers surveyed believe employees need to be in-person for the business to function, they are turning to AI for support in navigating this new workforce. 19% of SMBs are using AI for recruitment and talent sourcing.
• More than half of SMBs (52%) acknowledge that business growth likely increases the threat of cyberattacks on their business. Nearly half of the respondents (47%) invested in technologies to improve cybersecurity in the last year. One-quarter of SMBs don’t believe their business is investing enough.