Small businesses using AI are 20 times more likely to report revenue gains, new report finds

In the U.S., 43% of AI-using small and midsize businesses said their revenue increased as a result of AI, compared to just 2% who said it declined. That 20-to-1 ratio held steady across every quarter tracked since April 2025, according to the 2026 AI Impact Report from QuickBooks.

These findings stand out against a backdrop of declining small business employment in 2025, documented in the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index Annual Report. Small business employment fell in each market tracked, down 49,100 jobs among U.S. businesses with 1 to 9 employees, 73,100 jobs among Canadian businesses with 1 to 19 employees, and 5,400 jobs among U.K. businesses with 1 to 9 employees.

The report is based on surveys of more than 34,000 small and midsize-business owners across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia, combined with anonymized payment records from more than 5.3 million businesses on the Intuit platform.

Most small businesses are adopting AI. Far fewer are paying for it

Daily-to-monthly AI use has climbed sharply since mid-2024. In the U.S., the share of small and midsize businesses using AI regularly rose from 48% in July 2024 to 77% by January 2026. The shift was similarly pronounced elsewhere: Canada moved from 52% to 69%, the U.K. from 42% to 70%, and Australia from 40% to 69%.

Daily AI use increased faster than overall adoption in each market. In Australia and the U.K., the share of businesses using AI every day more than tripled over the same period.

Payment records from the sample show that a smaller group has paid for dedicated AI tools: 12% of U.S. businesses, 11% in Canada, and 7% in the U.K. paid for a standalone AI subscription at least once between 2021 and 2025.

Businesses that pay for AI tools tend to keep their subscriptions. Among U.S. businesses that paid for AI in 2024, 86% were still paying in 2025. In Canada, 78%. In the U.K., 79%.

Businesses using AI see gains in productivity, hiring and revenue

AI users are more likely to report improvements than setbacks across all five metrics the report tracks, in every market.

Productivity gains are the most widely reported benefit. Nearly three-quarters of businesses in every country say AI has made them more productive, up by nearly 25 or more percentage points from July 2024 in every market. In the U.S., 78% say AI improved productivity (up from 46%, per an earlier QuickBooks survey). The U.K. reached 77%, Australia 79%, Canada 73%.

On workdays, 27% of U.S. businesses using AI say it has shortened their workday, versus 8% who say it has made it longer, a ratio of more than 3 to 1. Similar trends appear in Canada (26% shorter vs. 8% longer), the U.K. (26% vs. 12%), and Australia (28% vs. 14%).

One result stands out: hiring. AI-using businesses in the U.S. are four times more likely to say AI has led to more hiring than to staff cuts (17% vs. 4%), a significant result given that small business employment broadly declined in 2025.

On costs, U.S. businesses are nearly twice as likely to say AI reduced their costs as to say it raised them: 29% versus 17%.

Younger owners and digital-first industries are leading paid adoption

Businesses paying for AI share similar characteristics across all three countries with payment data available. Newer businesses (under 10 years old), growth-focused leaders, and digital-first industries account for a disproportionate share.

AI adoption varies significantly by age group. In the U.S., 28% of businesses led by owners aged 18 to 34 paid for AI, compared to 13% of those led by owners aged 55 to 64. Canada and the U.K. show a similar pattern.

Businesses focused on growth are also more likely to pay for AI. In the U.S., businesses targeting fast growth are more than twice as likely to pay for AI as those focused on stability (38% vs. 16%).

By industry, the information sector tops the list in each market: 32% of U.S. information sector businesses paid for AI between 2021 and 2025, followed by professional services at 26% and education at 20%.

Concerns about trust outweigh cost for many businesses considering AI

For businesses that haven't adopted AI yet, the primary obstacles are about trust, not price.

The top three barriers are nearly identical across all four countries: privacy and security concerns (36% in the U.S.), lack of knowledge about AI's capabilities (28% U.S.), and concerns about accuracy or potential bias (26% in each market).

For most businesses holding back on AI, price is not the primary issue. Trust is.

Between 16% and 18% of businesses in each market report no concerns about AI at all, representing a segment that has moved past the trust question and continues to expand its AI use over time.

AI shows up first in marketing and admin workflows. Legal ranks last, everywhere.

AI is used most for tasks that are easier to standardize and automate. Marketing leads in the U.S. (45%) and Australia (45%). Admin leads in the U.K. (37%) and Canada (42%). Customer service, data processing, and bookkeeping round out the top tasks across markets.

Adoption in legal workflows ranked last across every country and survey wave since tracking began. AI usage in employee and product management rank consistently low as well. Both involve context, relationships, and accountability that are harder to delegate.

The consistency across countries shows that small business owners broadly agree on where AI is useful, and where it isn't.

The gap between adopters and nonadopters is widening as AI users continue to build on early gains

The report tracks more than adoption rates. It maps what businesses are actually experiencing once AI becomes part of how they work.

Since July 2024, the share of U.S. businesses using AI regularly has grown by nearly 30 percentage points. Over that same period, the share saying AI improved their productivity rose from 46% to 78%. Businesses that have committed to AI tools-measured by paid subscriptions-show retention rates at 78% or above in every country, suggesting the results are holding up over time.

At a time when small businesses broadly faced employment headwinds, AI-using businesses were four times more likely to report hiring gains than cuts. On revenue, productivity, workdays, and costs, AI users outperform nonusers across every market.

The barriers keeping some businesses from adopting AI-privacy concerns, unfamiliarity with its capabilities, doubts about accuracy-are significant. But the data suggests that businesses finding ways to address those concerns are seeing consistent returns.

As AI capabilities continue to evolve, including the rise of agentic AI that can handle multistep tasks autonomously, the returns available to early adopters are only likely to grow.

This story was produced by QuickBooks and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

Copyright 2026 Stacker Media, LLC

This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 4:30 AM.