US SMBs use AI mainly for data analysis, schedules

Expert Market has published survey findings on how US small and medium-sized businesses are using artificial intelligence.

Among 311 senior decision-makers at businesses with fewer than 500 employees, data analysis was the most common use case, cited by 36% of respondents. Scheduling and calendar management ranked second at 30%, followed by inventory management at 29%.

Customer support, writing tasks and personalised marketing each stood at 25%, while market research followed at 24%. Cybersecurity was cited by 20% of respondents, with design tasks at 19% and document classification at 18%.

The results suggest AI use is focused on routine administrative and operational work rather than experimental applications. Data-heavy and repetitive tasks appeared most often, indicating that smaller businesses are applying the technology where it may reduce time spent on manual processes.

Tech budgets

The survey also found that 69% of US SMBs spend up to $5,000 a month on technology and software subscriptions. More than a third, 37%, reported that their software and technology budgets had increased over the past six months, while 53% said spending had stayed the same.

That indicates many smaller businesses have maintained technology budgets even as they review operating costs.

The data was presented alongside separate findings from Website Builder Expert, which showed that businesses using AI to offset operating costs often applied it to research, scheduling and data analysis. Among businesses taking that approach, 55% used AI in those three areas.

Operational focus

The spread of responses indicates that AI adoption among smaller businesses is concentrated in functions with clear day-to-day demands. Inventory management, scheduling and customer support all ranked highly, pointing to use in both back-office organisation and front-line service.

Writing tasks and personalised marketing also appeared in the top tier, showing that some businesses are using AI for customer communication and content production as well as internal workflows. Even so, the highest-ranked categories remained those linked to organising information and managing business processes.

Chris Maillard, Editor at Expert Market, commented on the findings.

"While the AI hype and its opposition have concentrated on how artificial intelligence could impact creative industries, it seems business leaders are taking the more pragmatic step of using AI to tackle repetitive, data-driven tasks. This seems a far more sensible role for the new technology, and plays to its strengths in handling large amounts of data. This all forms part of today's business scene, where tech investment is a core necessity rather than a luxury," Maillard said.

Respondents were C-level, executive and owner-level professionals, providing a view from people directly involved in purchasing and operational decisions. Although the sample size was modest, it offers a snapshot of how smaller US businesses are prioritising AI tools and software spending.

The figures also suggest AI is being folded into existing software budgets rather than treated as a separate experimental line item. With most respondents either holding spending steady or increasing it, technology subscriptions appear to remain embedded in core business functions.

Across the ten listed use cases, the strongest demand was for tools that help businesses analyse data, manage time and track stock.