Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are investing in people to fuel AI growth, and the results are starting to show.
We recently surveyed 526 HR and L&D leaders at SMBs across the US and UK to better understand how they’re hiring, training, and investing in AI. The results suggest many SMBs are approaching AI differently than their larger enterprise counterparts. Rather than focusing primarily on cost savings, they’re using AI to grow, attract talent, and invest in the people who will help them scale.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the research.
SMBs see AI as a growth opportunity
For many SMBs, AI isn’t simply about doing more with less. While saving time remains the primary goal, growth ranks well ahead of cost reduction, and many organizations are expanding their teams to take advantage of new AI-fueled opportunities.
The numbers back that up:
- 67% plan to hire for additional roles before the end of the year
- 66% say AI has changed their talent strategy
- 43% say their primary goal for AI is saving time
- 36% say AI is primarily a driver of business growth
- 21% say reducing costs is their top priority
That hiring momentum is already translating into action. Three in 10 SMBs (30%) say they’re hiring more people so they can scale faster, meet demand, or seize new opportunities created by AI.
Growth-stage companies see AI adoption as a catalyst, not a cost-cutting exercise. They’re able to move faster to implement AI and scale it quickly, and they’re upskilling their workforces accordingly. As talent sees daily headlines around layoffs and benefit reductions, they’re increasingly looking for opportunities with organizations who see human talent as critical to AI transformation. SMBs are seizing the moment.
– Daniele Grassi, CEO, General Assembly
AI is creating new hiring opportunities for SMBs
The survey also found that recent workforce changes at larger organizations are creating new opportunities for SMBs to compete for talent.
More than four in five SMB HR leaders (81%) say layoffs and benefit reductions at larger companies have made it easier to hire and retain top talent. Nearly half (47%) have already hired talent from a larger organization within the past year.
Many are also doubling down on the benefits that matter most to today’s workforce:
- 72% now incorporate AI training into new hire onboarding
- 60% offer education, training, and professional development
- 47% offer flexible work arrangements
- 26% plan to expand education, training, and professional development this year
AI skills are quickly becoming part of the hiring equation, too. Four in 10 SMBs (40%) say they’ve passed over an otherwise qualified candidate because they lacked AI skills. That figure rises among younger hiring leaders, with 63% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials reporting they’ve made that decision.
SMBs are building AI skills from within
While hiring remains important, most organizations aren’t looking outside first. Instead, they’re investing in the people they already have.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of SMB leaders say upskilling existing employees is their primary strategy for closing AI skills gaps, compared with 25% who are hiring new talent with AI skills and 11% who rely on consultants or agencies. Even so, a lack of AI skills remains the biggest barrier to scaling AI adoption, cited by 32% of respondents.
That investment is showing up in both technology and training:
- 77% have invested in AI tools and platforms
- 70% have invested in AI skills training for employees
And the training itself is becoming more intentional. Rather than expecting employees to figure AI out on their own, organizations are giving them multiple ways to build capability:
- 51% offer role-specific AI training tailored to each team or department
- 50% offer tool-specific AI training
- 44% allow employees to experiment with AI during work hours
- 35% provide stipends or reimbursement for outside training
- Only 3% offer no AI upskilling opportunities
If there’s one clear takeaway from the survey, it’s this: Role-specific AI training is leading the way. Thirty-five percent of respondents ranked it as the most effective upskilling approach, ahead of tool-specific training (26%), reimbursement for external learning (21%), and on-the-job experimentation (18%).
SMBs are measuring AI success differently
One of the more interesting findings wasn’t about AI adoption. It was about how organizations define success.
More than half of SMBs (53%) measure AI success by employee satisfaction and retention, making it the most common indicator of a successful AI strategy. That ranked ahead of scaling the business (43%), improving customer satisfaction (41%), reducing costs (41%), and even employee AI usage (32%). Only 8% say they don’t have a formal way to measure AI success.
The results suggest the investments SMBs are making are paying off:
- 87% say they’ve achieved ROI from their AI investments
- 81% say AI has achieved its primary goal or delivered meaningful progress
- 24% say they’re already happy with the scale of AI adoption they’ve achieved
The next opportunity for SMBs
While generative AI has become commonplace, more advanced AI capabilities are still in the early stages of adoption, and SMBs are striving to keep pace:
- 71% use generative AI
- 46% use AI-powered automation
- 30% use agentic AI
The survey also found that SMBs continue to invest heavily in technology along with workforce development. On average, 46% of AI budgets go toward tools and platforms, compared with 34.5% invested in employee AI skills training.
With skills continuing to rank as the biggest barrier to scaling AI adoption, there’s still significant opportunity for organizations to close that gap as AI capabilities continue to evolve.
What the “SMB AI Talent Advantage” means
The findings point to a clear trend: SMBs are approaching AI as a growth strategy, not simply a way to reduce costs. And that’s creating a distinct advantage (one that many large enterprises are currently lacking).
They’re hiring new talent, investing in the employees they already have, and striking a balance on workforce development and technology adoption. At the same time, they’re measuring success in ways that extend beyond efficiency, with employee satisfaction and retention emerging as the leading indicator of AI success.
As AI continues to reshape the workplace, the organizations that invest in both technology and people will be in the strongest position to keep building on that momentum. Because progress will always be powered by people.