By Rieva Lesonsky
The interplay between technology and human ingenuity is the future of business.
Obviously, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved well beyond the theoretical and achieved significant levels of adoption across major industries. Cache Merrill, the founder of Zibtek, sent along some vital stats about AI:
- The global market size is expected to reach $407 billion by 2027, growing at an annual rate of 36.2%, fueling international GDP growth.
- Despite concerns that AI will replace workers, research shows that AI will create approximately 97 million new jobs by the end of this year.
- Several industries, including healthcare, finance and fraud prevention, and education and personalized learning, are expected to be “transformed” by AI.
- Applying AI-driven forecasting to supply chain management, for example, can reduce errors by between 20 and 50%, reducing lost sales and product unavailability by up to 65%.
- Generative AI has the potential to impact the retail and consumer packaged goods industries by $400 billion to $660 billion a year.
- Gen AI could increase marketing productivity between 5 and 15%, or about $463 billion a year.
- 69% of e-commerce businesses already using AI report improved efficiency.
I interviewed several industry leaders and experts to gain more insight into how AI has transformed small businesses and learn about predictions for AI’s role in 2025.
SMBs Will Harness the Transformative Power of AI in 2025
Moving beyond the initial hype, AI is now poised to deliver pragmatic outcomes for businesses, including smarter decision-making, operational efficiency, and increasing the value they deliver to their customers.
Take accounting and finance professionals. Despite high demand for their skills, these communities are trauma-bonded by the imperative to achieve more with fewer resources due to talent shortages. Those who leverage AI to relieve the pressure within their practices will find themselves substantially more advantaged over those who take more of a wait-and-see posture to this wave of AI efficiency.
Accounting and finance professionals have long sought to move away from traditional number crunching and into advisory work, and AI has the potential to enable that shift. By accessing artificial intelligence to fill talent gaps and level up their teams, they’ll find their work naturally shifting to more strategic planning and client relationship management. More time back and added efficiency will create the opportunity to deliver better insights to the business and more strategic advisory work.
As this shift evolves, the irreplaceable value of human expertise becomes even more apparent. AI is not about replacing people and talent but about empowering them. For SMBs and finance industry professionals, it’s a tool to focus on what truly matters: building stronger relationships with customers and developing innovative solutions to complex challenges.
Whether you’re an SMB owner, finance professional, or an accountant, the interplay between technology and human ingenuity is the future of business and has the potential to create a more dynamic and resilient economy.
—Ariege Misherghi, General Manager and SVP, Accounting Channel, BILL
AI Will Have a Tremendous Impact on Small Businesses
We expect AI to increasingly transform small businesses in 2025. Here are some of our predictions:
Empowerment: Small businesses have more access to AI tools and software that help them become better and more sophisticated digital marketers and operators. As a result, they need fewer people to get things done and are less dependent on outside agencies and experts. This relieves some of the hiring challenges SMBs typically face.
AI tools tailored for specific industries: As small businesses become familiar with AI tools and applications, they’ll gravitate to those that understand the nuances of their particular companies. These tools will then gain valuable vertical industry knowledge, making them even more valuable. This cycle will accelerate this year and into 2026, bringing enterprise-like capabilities and functionality to the massive small business market.
“Agentic AI” transforms virtual services: Agentic AI can make decisions, learn, and adapt to its environment. It’s designed to operate with limited human supervision. It will help drive new virtual businesses in numerous fields, including finance, health, dating, and general life coaches.
People will increasingly turn to these agents for advice. In many instances, they’ll begin to replace human counterparts, offering financial, nutrition, legal, and accounting advice.
AI’s impact on employment: The next phase will be largely negative for workers, with less hiring, more layoffs—often not officially attributed to AI—and downward pressure on salaries. Remaining employees will face higher productivity expectations. Then, after declining job satisfaction, employees will adapt to and embrace AI in the workplace.
—Greg Sterling/Neal Polacheck, Co-Founders and Lead Analysts, Local Dialog, LLC
The Future of SMB Technology Adoption
In 2025, SMBs will experience a profound shift in their approach to technology, particularly as AI continues to disrupt industries. Historically, SMBs have lagged larger enterprises in adopting new technologies, often overwhelmed by the day-to-day demands of running their businesses. However, this will change rapidly as market pressures and competition intensify.
While most SMBs still do not fully leverage the tools available to drive growth, this gap will narrow as technology solutions become more integrated, intuitive, and focused on simplicity. SMBs will no longer need to seek independent, specialized solutions; instead, they will demand comprehensive, all-in-one platforms that streamline operations and maximize efficiency. Businesses are increasingly looking for tools that seamlessly integrate with their operations to save time, reduce complexity, and improve profitability.
SMBs will experience a significant leap in technology adoption this year. The shift will be driven by a growing recognition that smart technology solutions are essential for survival and growth, even for businesses that once considered themselves “too small” to need sophisticated tools. The businesses that thrive will embrace integrated technology solutions that make their operations simpler, faster, and more efficient.
—Eric Remer, CEO, EverCommerce
More from AllBusiness:
Predicting the Rise of AI Agents
We expect to see the rapid adoption of AI this year. Our 2024 Hiscox People and Programs Report shows that nearly three in five small businesses are already using or planning to implement AI in the next two years. AI may become a central tool for small businesses, helping to enhance their customer experience, streamline operations, and improve overall efficiency. As more companies recognize its potential, AI could move from an emerging technology to an essential part of everyday business operations.
We’ll also see increased use of AI agents:
Personalized AI agents: In 2025, advancements in AI technology will revolutionize customer experience through the proliferation of personalized AI agents. These AI models, including small language models sophisticated enough to operate on individual devices, will enable users to have highly personalized virtual assistants. These assistants will seamlessly interact with businesses and service providers, offering a level of convenience and customization previously unattainable.
The shift towards personalized AI will not only empower users with more efficient and tailored communication but also anticipate their needs, making interactions more intuitive and proactive. This evolution will significantly enhance the overall customer experience, creating a more dynamic and responsive digital environment.
Business AI agents: Businesses will increasingly adopt AI agents that embody their unique values, personalities, and purposes. These AI-driven representatives will engage with customers in ways that are deeply aligned with the company’s ethos, ensuring authentic, meaningful, and memorable interactions.
By leveraging AI to reflect their core values, businesses will create more consistent and emotionally resonant customer experiences. These AI agents will enable companies to maintain a coherent voice and presence across all touchpoints, fostering stronger customer loyalty and trust. We will witness AI bots conversing with customers and interfacing with each other, collaborating to deliver seamless and integrated experiences that truly represent the people and principles behind the brands.
—Tyler Peterson, Head of Professional Risks, Hiscox USA
AI Powering Efficiency
Deploying AI to optimize small businesses will remain essential this year. AI will be crucial for small businesses to streamline everything from customer interactions to daily operations. We’ll see more small businesses getting comfortable using AI tools such as chatbots to handle customer inquiries and automate communications, freeing up time for small business owners to focus on other areas of their companies. Beyond customer service, AI will be key for boosting internal efficiency for tasks like inventory, scheduling, and administrative tasks.
—John Towle, Director of Small Business at Block Advisors by H&R Block
Integrating AI Into Sales and Marketing
We expect AI to handle even more of the heavy lifting in sales and marketing, from refining B2C recommendations on what products to buy to B2B insights on who to target and the messaging to get there. This will go beyond basic suggestions: AI will provide predictive insights that tailor recommendations in real-time, boosting sales efficiency and personalization.
Enhanced workflow automation: In 2025, AI will be embedded within our everyday tools, performing complex tasks and saving time for sales professionals. Imagine AI reviewing emails, identifying high-priority messages, and drafting responses based on prior conversations and contextual cues. This level of automation will allow sales teams to focus on relationship-building and strategic activities rather than administrative tasks.
Rise of AI avatars as sales influencers: We expect a boom in AI avatars serving as influencers across social media channels. These digital personas will engage customers, showcase products, and even personalize interactions in a way that mirrors human influence but at a massive scale. This trend will reshape influencer marketing and offer a new frontier for B2B and B2C outreach.
—Jeremy Schiff, Founder and CEO, Salesbot.io
AI Pays Off for Marketers
A recent study from Adobe revealed some interesting insights about how AI impacts marketing results. Here’s what you need to know:
Most (63%) marketing employees have integrated AI into their workflows. Specifically:
- 62% say using AI has helped them increase content production
- 61% say using AI gives them more time to improve the quality of their work
- 56% report their employers now offer them AI training
- 49% say it improves work-life balance
- 45% say it helps them learn new skills
Even marketing team members who haven’t embraced AI understand the technology’s benefits:
- 49% say it would improve the quality of their work
- 43% say it would help them learn new skills
- 43% say they would do more strategic planning.
—Marketing in the Age of AI, Adobe Experience Cloud
AI Will Become Indispensable in Customer Experience
We, as humans, tend to overestimate the impact of emerging technologies in the near term but underestimate the impact in the long term. In 2023 and 2024, we realized the initial benefits of AI in customer experience. But in 2025, we’ll see the profound impact it will have.
AI will become an integral part of customer interactions, with consumers and businesses embracing its capabilities. This year, AI will be woven into daily customer service operations, including AI agents with natural voice capabilities and the ability to act on customer requests. This will drive efficiency, personalization, and satisfaction to unprecedented levels. This mainstream acceptance will not only elevate the customer experience but also set new standards for engagement, making AI an indispensable tool in the customer service arsenal.
—Jay Patel, SVP/GM, Webex Customer Experience Solutions, Cisco
About the Author
Rieva Lesonsky creates content focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at [email protected], follow her on Twitter @Rieva, and visit her website SmallBusinessCurrents.com to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free Currents newsletter.
