By Women Who Influence | The Influence · Business technology analysis
The question for a small business is not simply whether artificial intelligence is popular. It is whether a particular use improves the work enough to justify its cost, training, and review.
What small businesses have reported
A Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco research summary published in September 2026 describes varied experiences with AI in the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey. Firms cited obstacles including costs, limited staff capacity, training requirements, and uncertainty about implementation. Some deliberately chose not to adopt tools because of accuracy concerns, the importance of human interaction, or a lack of fit with their work.
These findings describe respondents’ experiences and the researchers’ qualitative analysis. They do not prove that adopting AI causes higher profits, or that a particular product will suit every company.
The WWI perspective: define the task before buying the tool
A general promise to save time is difficult to evaluate. A specific task is easier: preparing an initial outline for a newsletter, organizing non-sensitive notes, or creating several draft descriptions for a person to review.
Consider a hypothetical owner who spends two hours preparing a weekly customer update. If a tool produces a draft in ten minutes but checking and correcting it takes nearly two hours, the apparent speed has not delivered much improvement. If it helps produce a clearer result while genuinely reducing the total work, the business has a more meaningful reason to continue.
A useful first evaluation
- Choose one repeatable task. Define what an acceptable result looks like before testing.
- Count the entire process. Include setup, subscriptions, staff learning, checking, and corrections.
- Keep a person responsible. Decide who checks names, numbers, statements, and the final customer-facing output.
- Protect information. Check a tool’s data-handling terms before entering customer, employee, or confidential business information.
- Compare results. Ask whether the new process improves the outcome as well as the time spent.
These are evaluation suggestions, not a recommendation for a particular vendor. A tool that works for a marketing task may be inappropriate for another decision.
For women and underrepresented entrepreneurs, access to technology should include access to practical learning and room to ask questions. Purchasing software is only one part of being able to use it effectively.
The economic conversation should therefore include who has the time, training, and confidence to evaluate these tools—not just how many businesses say they have tried them.
Source and reporting note
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: AI Adoption Among Small Businesses, September 1, 2026. Source reviewed October 28, 2026. Original WWI analysis; the workflow example is hypothetical.
