Are SMBs paying for AI tools?
The number of SMBs who pay for AI tools varies dramatically by headcount, from 57% of those with fewer than 20 employees to 93% of SMBs with 100 to 1,000 employees.
The top reason SMBs stick with free AI tools: The free version does everything they need.
Source: Bredin SMB Omnibus, June 2026
What would convince SMBs to pay for AI tools?
41% of all SMBs say a clear example of the time or money their company would save would prompt them to spend money on AI tools.
Source: Bredin SMB Omnibus, June 2026
Why don't SMBs use AI features built into the software they use?
Top reasons SMBs don’t use AI features integrated into common applications
- VSBs: 39% have concerns about customer data privacy.
- SBs: 38% have concerns about their business data being stored or used to train AI models.
- MBs: 45% prefer dedicated AI tools over add-ons built into other software.
Source: Bredin SMB Omnibus, June 2026
Bredin's SMB MarketPulse goes deeper on how SMBs make decisions.