SFA Survey Finds 76 Per Cent See Rewards. The Other 69 Per Cent Haven't Even Looked.
The Small Firms Association surveyed small businesses and found that fewer than one in five have integrated AI into their business models. A striking 31 per cent have not started or looked into AI at all, up 11 percentage points from last year. Only 7 per cent use AI tools they developed themselves, while 30 per cent customise existing models. Among those who do use AI strategically, 76 per cent report undeniable rewards, according to the SFA.
This demonstrates the adoption gap mechanism, which is the widening chasm between passive consumption and strategic implementation of a technology. The key insight is that mere exposure to AI tools produces negligible competitive advantage. Real returns, as the 76 per cent figure suggests, require what economists call complementary investment. You must redesign workflows around the capability, not simply bolt it onto existing ones. The 31 per cent who haven't even looked are not cautious. They are falling behind at an accelerating rate.
The Small Firms Association conducted the survey. Small businesses in their network participated. The SFA itself noted the significant gap between basic usage and strategic adoption.
- Open any AI assistant you already have access to and identify one repetitive task in your workday that involves writing, summarising, or drafting. Write it down. The expected outcome is a concrete use case you can test in under five minutes.
- Draft that task using the AI assistant, then edit the output to fit your specific business context. This mirrors the 30 per cent of firms that customise existing models rather than building their own. The expected outcome is a finished work product you can actually use.
- Note the time saved versus doing it manually. If the saving is meaningful, you have taken the first step past the 31 per cent who haven't even looked.