AI saves small business leaders 6 to 10 hours a week

Survey findings published by Tech.co show that 22% of small- and medium-sized business leaders say artificial intelligence saves them 6 to 10 hours of work per week. The research was based on responses from 300 US business leaders at companies with fewer than 500 employees.

More than half of respondents (54%) reported a productivity boost after introducing AI into their work. The figures suggest AI tools are taking on a growing role in day-to-day management tasks at smaller businesses.

The survey also found a link between AI spending and time saved. Businesses spending between USD $1,001 and USD $2,500 on AI tools were the most likely to report saving six to 10 hours a week, while those spending less than USD $100 a month typically saved fewer than two hours.

This suggests returns vary widely depending on how much companies invest in the technology. It also indicates that lower-cost tools may deliver narrower gains in routine work.

Task Mix

Writing was the most common use of AI among the business leaders surveyed, cited by 29% of respondents. Research followed at 26%, and customer support at 19%.

Taking meeting notes and scheduling or calendar management were each cited by 16% of respondents. Money and bookkeeping came next at 15%, followed by staffing and team administration at 13%.

The rankings suggest respondents are turning first to AI for tasks that take up large parts of the working week. Administrative jobs with shorter completion times appeared lower on the list.

Support Function

Customer support stood out in the findings on productivity gains. Four in five business leaders who had replaced customer support with AI reported improvements in productivity.

The result points to a shift in how some smaller businesses are using AI, moving beyond internal drafting and research into customer-facing work. It also raises questions about how far companies are willing to trade direct human contact for speed and lower workloads.

The survey targeted C-level, executive and owner-level professionals in the US, all working at businesses with fewer than 500 employees. That places the findings firmly within the small and medium-sized business market.

The data adds to the broader evidence that AI adoption in smaller companies is becoming more closely tied to measurable time savings rather than to experimentation alone. For managers handling multiple functions, cutting several hours from weekly workloads may be one of the clearest tests of whether the tools justify the cost.

It also reflects a practical use case for AI in businesses without the technology budgets of larger rivals. For these firms, the appeal appears to lie less in broad strategic change and more in reducing time spent on recurring tasks such as drafting documents, conducting research and handling customer queries.

Jack Turner, Editor at Tech.co, said, "Our latest research at Tech.co has cut through a lot of the noise around AI and shown that there are real, tangible benefits, which could make huge differences to companies that adopt the tech. With 22% of SMB leaders saying AI saves on average 6 - 10 hours a week, it makes the promise of a four-day week ever closer. In addition, the value of this time at between $1,001-$2,500 is likely to make AI-sceptics sit up and take notice."