How AI is Reclaiming Time, Increasing Business for Small Business Owners

Overview Survey

Most small business owners use generative AI – AI tools that can generate text or visualizations – to enhance their businesses' offerings, according to a recent survey from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Technology Engagement Center. In fact, 58% of the small business owners who responded to their survey said they use generative AI.

The survey also showed that not only is AI not replacing workers, but the use of AI tools is also encouraging additional hiring among small business owners. The survey found that 82% of respondents said they increased their workforce in 2025.

The survey also found:

• Nearly all responding small businesses are using at least one AI technology platform.

• 58% of respondents use generative AI, up from 40% in 2023.

• 84% of small businesses plan to increase their use of AI technology platforms.

• 96% of small business owners plan to adopt emerging technologies, including AI and cryptocurrencies.

• Barriers to using AI still exist in the minds of small business owners, although nearly all of the respondents said they understand the benefits of using AI.

Will Regulations go Too Far?

The survey also addressed the gathering fear that AI may replace human beings in certain jobs and can be used for deceptive activities such as web-based deepfakes. Many states have passed AI legislation, and some of the laws that have been passed outlaw using AI for deepfakes. Many law firms, including global law firm Orrick, is currently keeping track of AI legislation.

According to the Chamber of Commerce's survey, however, 77% of small businesses say that passing laws that prohibit or discourage the use of AI would negatively impact their growth, operations and revenue.

What do Actual Business Owners Say About AI?

Small business owners who responded to Biz2Credit's questions brushed off the notion that AI will replace human jobs and instead, said that AI makes their businesses more efficient by automating the boring stuff. This includes addressing customers via email and creating pricing quotes. They added that AI tools have freed them up for more important activities such as soliciting business prospects and increasing operational capabilities. Many emphasized that AI isn't even advanced enough to replace human beings in certain job functions that require spontaneous thinking.

Biz2Credit, through an online service called Help a Reporter Out (HARO.com), elicited comments from everyday small business owners on how they use AI to enhance their businesses. The small business owners who responded did so with the understanding that they would be quoted in this article.

Will AI Replace Workers?

We don't need to be afraid of factory-made androids plunging us into another Great Depression just yet. One small business owner, Rebecca Rushton, founder of podiatry practice Blister Prevention, said AI works best when it helps “remove friction and support human judgement – not when it's used to replace it.”

Her practice uses AI to provide patients with the precise information they request, including relevant education, FAQs and proof points. This ultimately helps her practice “shorten decision time and improve conversions without increasing marketing spend.”

Can AI Save Time?

Time is one of the most precious commodities that exist in the world of small business owners, and AI tools give them more of it. Cameron Figgins, president of Absolute Maintenance & Consulting in Los Angeles, called AI programs such as ChatGPT and Google's Gemini tool “A pressure release for my inbox,” as he uses those tools to revise technical notes, clarify reports and reword email responses to his customers when delays occur.

“AI does not run my job site or control my big picture decisions,” he said. “It's best for me in communication...every 20 minutes and 30 minutes you save on small tasks allows you to think about the bigger picture. I'd rather use that brain power and outsource the busy work.”

Bennett Barrier, CEO of DFW Turf Solutions in Texas, said AI made his business more efficient. He said he usesAI to accurately quote prices to customers by automating the process of calculating square footage and estimating material costs and labor hours. “What used to take two hours now takes only 12 minutes,” he said.

His company also uses AI to analyze customer inquiries and route installation requests based on location and project type, a job that he and his employees have always found mind-numbingly boring.

“This allows our team to do actual design work rather than spend our time checking emails all day,” Barrier said. “Our scheduling system now tracks weather patterns and the availability of the clients, which reduced our no shows considerably. The time that we save goes directly into serving more clients.”

For Rositsa Petrova, founder of Home of Wool, which makes and sells wool mattresses, AI has automated certain business processes and helps promote the company's brand. Petrova said she often gets inquiries about what her company does. Instead of making new customers wait for human answers, AI chatbots can answer their basic questions immediately. Her company also uses AI to help produce clear explanations to its customers on technical topics such as measurements and specific materials they may need.

“Overall, AI has made our customer experience smoother without negatively impacting the values we're built on,” Petrova said. “It reduces inbox pressure, saves time, and lets us spend more time and energy on the hands-on, personal guidance that customers may need.”

Michael Vonhof, owner for Visiting Angels, a visiting healthcare service for seniors in California, AI saves him precious time by automatically drafting care plan summaries from caregiver notes and craft responses to family questions. He also uses it to review website copy and draft emails.

“I can test ideas, create documents, and solve problems in minutes instead of hours,” he said. “That speed allows us to stay focused on what matters.”

Mike Handelsman, Owner of FoamOrder, a foam products manufacturing company, said his company has also been able to save significant amounts of time by using AI to quickly analyze and spot patterns in customer order data rather than having employees do it manually. AI has also helped in double-checking product descriptions and instructions to ensure customers are getting clear information about his products upfront, which, in turn, results in fewer returns and even fewer headaches.

“I wouldn't say that AI is the star of the show, but it's definitely been a great addition to the troupe and makes our daily operations smoother and more predictable,” Handelsman said.

How Can AI Bring in New Business?

Some small businesses have been able to increase their business with AI. Agustin Drubi, an orthodontist in South Florida and founder of Sun Orthodontist Braces & Invisalign.

Since adopting AI tools into his business last year, he has been able to automate cumbersome tasks such as sending reminders for appointments to first time patients, which he says has increased the “show up rate” for new patients by 35%.

He's also used AI to automatically send missed appointment follow up messages to new patients, asking them to reschedule. By doing this, he has pulled in roughly $30,000 in extra revenue every month since it was implemented. That's not bad for just adding an automated task, he said.

AI has also enabled his practice to respond to Google reviews on the same day they are posted, especially the negative ones that small business owners often dread.

“These are just our first tries with AI automation and will be looking to implement it into more areas of our businesses in the coming months, based on the results we have seen so far,” he said.

Can You Strengthen Your Brand With AI?

Being able to automate those mind-numbing tasks is great, but AI can also be used for more creative tasks, such as helping to manage a small business' visual brand. Whitney Duenas Richardson, founder of Global Sprouts, an educational company for children, said her company uses AI to animate his business' global mascot, “Globee,” an animated M&M like figure, in its online learning tools. “With AI we're able to make him hold country flags, ride a bull, and so much more. It has helped us strengthen his recognition and ours as well.”

AI is a ‘Game Changer'

While AI won't replace human beings in the near future, it just may be the reinvention of sliced bread for small business owners. Dovi Geretz, chief technology officer at SlickTrip, a travel service that alerts customers when flight prices drop, called AI a “game changer” for his business. He uses it to analyze large volumes of data and suggest actions based on those analyses. His business also uses AI to enhance his firm's cybersecurity by detecting data breaches in real time.

“AI has been such a game changer for helping me make data-driven business decisions,” he said.

AI ‘Complements Without Replacing'

The transition from AI skepticism to active adoption remains ongoing. Small businesses are no longer asking if they should use AI, but how strongly it can complement them. Whether it's animating a brand mascot or securing a travel platform's data, AI has transitioned from a high-tech novelty to a necessary component, of small business operations.

But while AI technology continues to evolve, the human beings still remain the “stars of the show,” so-to-speak. By leveraging AI to remove operational friction, small business owners are freeing themselves from mundane tasks and focusing instead on improving their businesses and strengthening customer relations.