The use of AI in small businesses is increasing, a census report shows

Generative AI is of great help to a growing number of business owners. While large companies tend to be leaders in adopting artificial intelligence, even very small companies — those with just 1 to 4 employees — are using AI tools relatively frequently, according to a new analysis from the Census Bureau.

Antonette Vanasek runs a small insurance agency in Chico, California. Your employees? You, two employees and AI.

“When I compose emails, I can send them faster. If people have specific questions, I can almost give them a treatise on very specific things in the email,” she said.

She has also developed chatbots to answer questions about health insurance.

“Instead of asking HR about this, the bot could also respond specifically to the company’s group health plan, such as deductibles. “How much does it cost to see a specialist?” Vanasek said.

She has become so good at AI that her insurance clients ask her to help them develop AI tools.

In Kansas City, Vanessa Jupe said her company, Leva, uses AI to help new mothers at work. “All of our content on our platform is delivered through AI,” she said.

Justus said AI is helping her offer more personalized content at scale.

“So if you’re formula feeding, breastfeeding or going back to work, all the content is really tailored to you,” she said.

According to payroll company Gusto, about one in four small businesses implement generative AI as a business tool. Nich Tremper is an economist there.

“Everyone has parts of their job that just have to happen, right? But it may not be the job they were actually hired to do, and Gen AI leaves more time for the job the employee was hired to do,” he said.

And Amy Reid of the Texas Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center said she expects to see greater use of AI, particularly for truly small businesses.

“I think we’ll just see them realize that they’re creating better prompts so that they get better results and use AI more regularly, rather than saying, ‘Oh yeah, I can use AI,'” said she.

According to Reid, the more business owners learn about AI, the more they overcome their skepticism and are closer to using these tools.