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In February 2024, Venture Forward, GoDaddy’s international research initiative, surveyed more than 3,000 small business owners about their use of leverage. generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) aims to compete with big brands and level the playing field across numerous industries.
The study concludes that 44% of small businesses, or those with 10 or fewer employees, somewhat or completely agree that AI capabilities will help their business grow in the year ahead. While 50% of those surveyed admitted to experimenting with AI in the past few months, 40% of business owners said they personally do not see other small business owners using AI. I answered that I didn’t know.
Venture Forward found that top use cases for AI include content production such as writing and multimedia asset design, data point summarization, marketing and operational strategy, and business insights.
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Data shows that Black-owned businesses are twice as likely to use AI, especially for customer service, compared to white-owned brands. (St. Petersburg)
“The biggest challenge when starting a business is marketing,” Alexandra Rosen, senior director of GoDaddy Venture Forward, told FOX Business in a video interview. “They’re using it for what they used to employ people for.”
Small business owners no longer need marketers to deliver digital services, but despite assumptions that fewer jobs remain due to GenAI, there is no evidence that any jobs are actually being taken away. said Rosen.
“Small business owners are creating jobs,” she says. “We know that for every microbusiness entrepreneur, about seven jobs are created. They’re giving back to society. They’re creating more demand locally.”The more of them there are, the more jobs are created. ”
Rosen added that small business owners can spend time focusing on their passions without falling behind in running their business. Leveraging AI also increases your ability to extend your time and allocate energy and capital to strategies that grow your business faster.
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More small business owners are leveraging generative artificial intelligence to grow their businesses and compete with big brands. (license/image)
Consumers who are avoiding paid advertising through search engines in search of retail products, consultations, etc. have a natural question: Is it problematic for fellow buyers to approach brands using AI? Masu.
However, Rosen has found that there is integrity among business owners who are using GenAI.
“Technology is a tool and GenAI is a catalyst,” Rosen said. “We found that they weren’t shy about sharing whether or how they tried it.”
She added that small business owners are open to the latest technology and anything that can save them time and money. In addition to this, she said that GenAI’s output is only based on input from management, ensuring brand authenticity.
“It’s not necessarily intuitive and may not be suitable for everyone,” Rosen says. “If your business is person-to-person and you don’t need it, you don’t need it.”
Businesses in the hospitality, retail, and consulting industries are more likely to be using AI, including stay-at-home moms who have launched multiple side hustles or passion projects and have seen an increase in revenue over the past six months .
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According to Alexandra Rosen, senior director at GoDaddy Venture Forward, small business owners are not shying away from leveraging AI for growth. (/ensemble)
According to data from Venture Forward, 40% of business owners surveyed said their small business is not their primary source of income, and 66% expect their small business to be their primary source of income. The answer was yes.
“They seem to be valuing the extra income and the flexibility it allows,” Rosen said.
When it comes to the demographics of the surveyed groups, 1 in 3 Black and Hispanic small businesses are using AI, according to data from Venture Forward. Among the white and Asian-owned companies surveyed, only one in four said they were using AI in their company.
According to Venture Forward, the small and medium-sized businesses that have most adopted AI include younger and black owners, and each is 50% likely to have used the technology in their business practices in the past few months. It is said to be expensive.
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The data also shows that Black-owned businesses are twice as likely to use AI specifically for customer service compared to white-owned brands, and that Asian and Hispanic small business owners are twice as likely to use AI to improve sales. concluded that they are using twice as much.
“Those who have been more affected by the economic downturn, those who have been forced out of the workforce, or generally speaking, have reflected on being their own boss or have always had dreams of opening their own business. People,” Rosen said. “We see that Black women are the fastest growing demographic.”
Reasons small businesses reported for not using AI to grow their business included lack of familiarity with AI, time, necessity, and cost of using AI.
“There is resistance,” Rosen said. “But I think it’s great to have options.”
