SMB Use of AI Across the Sales Cycle

We recently surveyed 500 U.S. SMB principals on how likely they are to use AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini to first learn about, research, and make buying decisions on business products and services.  

Here are key findings:

• Very small businesses (VSBs, with fewer than 20 employees) use AI significantly less than their larger peers at every stage of the sales cycle.
• Use by small businesses (SBs, with 20 to 99 employees) and midsized businesses (MBs, with 100-500 employees) is very similar at the discovery and research stages. MB use of AI at the purchase stage is significantly higher than SB use.
• VSB and SB use of AI is highest at the research stage; MBs, for discovery and purchase decision-making.

SMB Use of AI Across the Sales Cycle

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