Most businesses still aren't using AI, and for a small business that is the best argument for starting now. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey, the national AI use rate was 19.8% as of May 3, 2026. The survey asks whether a business used AI in any business function in the past two weeks, so the bar is low, and roughly four in five businesses still didn't clear it.
The split by size is the part to watch. In the same survey, 37% of firms with at least 250 employees reported using AI, against less than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees. Between December 2025 and May 2026, use grew among firms with 20 or more employees and didn't change significantly among the smaller ones. So the larger companies you compete with are more likely to be using AI already, and over those months the gap got wider.
More are on the way. Between 20% and 23% of businesses told the Census Bureau they expected to be using AI within six months.
For a small business, the useful version of AI is rarely a data-science project. It's a chatbot that answers customer questions at any hour, a voice receptionist that books the appointment when nobody can get to the phone, and automation that handles follow-ups and keeps your CRM current without anyone retyping it. Those are the systems we build for clients.
Then there is efficiency. In our view, AI is about augmenting people, not replacing them. Automate the routine, repetitive tasks and your team gets its time back for the strategic work that needs creativity, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
Personalization is the other piece, and we consider it one of the most powerful uses of AI. From recommendation engines to personalized marketing campaigns, AI lets you treat every customer as an individual.
Where to start? Pick the one task that eats the most hours in your week and automate that first. One system that works beats five you never set up.
At Current Digital Co, we help small businesses work out where AI is worth using. Our Partner plan, the full-service one, includes an AI chatbot or voice receptionist plus workflow and CRM automation. Talk to us about putting AI to work in your business.