Why 75% of Small Businesses Will Hand Work to AI Employees This Year (And How to Be Ready)

Title: A small business owner plans work at a laptop
Caption: AI can help with routine work and leave more time for people and ideas.
Description: A business owner works at a laptop in a calm home office with plants and a whiteboard.

A number like 75% grabs attention. But what does it actually tell us about AI for small business?

A Bluevine survey of 729 U.S. small-business owners, conducted in June 2026, found that 75% planned to hand certain business functions to AI or automated software during the following 12 months instead of hiring dedicated staff. The most common areas were marketing and sales, customer service and communications, finance and bookkeeping, and office administration. Bluevine’s report measured plans to automate selected work, not a promise that 75% of businesses will replace employees.

That distinction matters. An “AI employee” is best understood as a software tool set up to handle repeatable tasks, with people still guiding the work and making important decisions.

The signal is clear: small businesses are looking for ways to do more without adding every task to someone’s plate. The goal is not fewer people. It is less busywork and more room for people to lead, create, and serve.

Image title: Business owners planning work together
Caption: Start with a real task your team wants to make easier.
Description: Two small-business colleagues review tasks on a laptop in a welcoming office.

What the 75% figure does, and doesn’t, mean

The Bluevine finding is about planned automation over the next year. It does not mean 75% of small businesses already use AI employees, or that they intend to replace 75% of their staff.

Another often-cited finding comes from Salesforce. Its 2025 reporting said 75% of small and growing businesses were at least experimenting with AI. “Experimenting” includes businesses testing tools, not just those using them in established workflows. Read Salesforce’s summary.

Together, these figures point to growing interest, but they measure different things. A survey about future plans is not the same as a survey about current use. And testing a chatbot is not the same as assigning an AI tool a recurring job.

That’s why the useful question for an owner is not, “Will 75% do this?” It’s: Which repeated task is taking time away from work that matters more?

AI employees should free people to do people’s work

At Aimee’s Marketing, AI helps create blog drafts, organize research, improve marketing campaigns, and assist with customer communication. It gives Aimee more time to serve clients and develop new ideas. It does not replace the care, judgment, or relationships that make the work valuable.

That people-first approach also applies to nonprofits. An AI tool might help an executive director prepare a first draft of a board update or sort routine messages. Staff and volunteers can then spend more time supporting donors, community members, and programs.

For a local contractor, an AI tool might organize new inquiries so the owner can focus on estimates and customer conversations. For a restaurant, it might help draft social posts while the team focuses on guests and service.

Helpful beats flashy. A useful AI employee handles a clear, repeatable task and knows when to pass work to a person.

Four roles small businesses can consider

The AI employee team offers a practical way to picture different types of work:

• Eva, executive assistant: Helps organize email, calendars, and meeting tasks. A customer testimonial on Marblism’s website says Eva helped save more than 40 hours in a month by organizing a crowded inbox and supporting day-to-day work.
• Stan, sales associate: Supports lead research and follow-up. A human should set the right audience, review the tone, and handle sensitive or high-value sales conversations.
• Penny, blog writer: Helps with research and content drafts. A person should fact-check claims, add real experience, and approve anything published.
• Rachel, receptionist: Helps answer calls and manage routine inquiries. Businesses should decide in advance which questions need a staff member.

Other customer testimonials on Marblism’s site describe estimated savings of 60+ hours per month across several AI roles and 100+ hours per month on posting and content tasks. These are individual customer reports, not independent research or guaranteed results. Your time savings will depend on your workflow, setup, and how much review the work needs.

You can meet the AI workforce and read A Day Inside My AI Office for examples of how these roles can fit into a working day.

Image title: Nonprofit colleagues plan community work
Caption: AI can support the work while people stay focused on the community.
Description: Two nonprofit colleagues discuss a task list and look at a laptop together.

A simple way to get ready

You do not need a large AI plan to begin. Start with one workflow and test it.

1. List the repeated tasks. For one week, note what takes time every day or week: answering common questions, scheduling, drafting routine posts, or sorting inquiries.
2. Choose a task that is low-risk and easy to check. Drafting a newsletter is easier to review than giving medical advice or approving a payment. Start where a mistake is visible before it reaches a customer.
3. Write down the process. Include the goal, the information the AI can use, the tone to follow, and what it must send to a person. Clear instructions beat clever prompts.
4. Set review and privacy rules. Decide who checks the output. Do not share private customer, donor, employee, or financial information unless your organization has approved the tool and its data settings.
5. Measure the result for a month. Track time saved, quality, missed details, and customer experience. Count the time spent checking and correcting the output too.
6. Keep, adjust, or stop. If the workflow saves time without lowering quality, improve it or try another task. If it creates more work, change the process or stop using it.

A quick ROI check can help: estimate the hours saved in a month, multiply by the value of that time, then subtract the tool cost and time spent reviewing results. Treat the estimate as a guide, not a promise.

For a closer look at the trade-offs, read AI vs. human employees. For setup advice, see How to Hire Your First AI Employee. You can also explore AI productivity tools for marketing teams and Aimee’s practical guide to training small business teams to use AI.

Image title: Small business owner plans the next steps
Caption: Measure whether AI saves time and keeps the work useful.
Description: A business owner reviews a calendar and notes at a home office desk.

Keep a person in charge

AI tools can miss context, produce inaccurate information, or use a tone that does not fit your business. They may also need extra setup before they can handle a task reliably. A person should review work that affects customers, staff, finances, health, legal matters, or a nonprofit’s community.

The strongest setup is often a partnership: AI handles repetitive work; people handle judgment, relationships, and accountability. That can help a small team grow its capacity without losing its human touch.

If you are ready to test an AI employee, start with one role and one clear task. Get started here to explore AI employees. If you work with business owners and want to share the resource, Apply here to become a Marblism partner.

Simplified Summary

• What is this article about? Small businesses are planning to use AI and automation for some repeated tasks.
• Why should I care? AI may give you more time for customers, staff, and important decisions.
• How do I do it? Pick one simple task, set clear rules, review the work, and track the time saved.
• What is the main goal? Let AI handle busywork so people can focus on people and better ideas.

Next step

Choose one repeated task this week and write down how you would check its work.

Hire AI employees: Get started here
Become a Marblism partner: Apply here