Survey Finds Most Small Business Owners Say AI Boosts Productivity, But Many Want More Guidance

A YouGov study commissioned by Meta surveyed nearly 4,000 small business owners across nine Asia-Pacific markets: Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong.

Among those surveyed, 84% currently use AI, 76% reported a positive impact on productivity over the past 12 months, and 71% reported a positive impact on revenue or sales.

Four in five owners (80%) agreed AI helps small businesses compete more effectively with larger companies, and the same proportion said it makes starting a business easier. 83% agreed AI enables small businesses to do things that previously required significantly more money or resources.

Among owners reporting a positive productivity impact, 58% used the time to improve the quality of existing work, 50% put it into growth and business planning, and 46% got more done with their existing team. Common uses included creating or editing content (51%), local advertising and marketing (43%), translation (38%), and customer support and communications (37%).

But 86% said small businesses need more guidance to gain AI's full benefits. Cost was the leading barrier to training, cited by 51%. Owners said they would value clearer information on cost and return on investment, plus guidance on data privacy and security.

The research was conducted online between 6 August and 2 September 2026, with quotas by business size across firms with 1-9, 10-19 and 20-49 employees. Findings provide insights across a cross-section of small businesses rather than being nationally representative.