Why Small Businesses Must Not Get Left Behind In The AI Boom

Global efforts to govern the future of artificial intelligence are at a critical juncture. This year alone, places like Paris, Kigali, San Francisco, and many others have held broad convenings to align governments, industry, and civil society on AI policy actions that advance shared prosperity and safety.

And with many of the world's countries holding elections in 2024, new global governance policies regarding AI development and use are emerging.

While these shifts promise innovation, they also threaten to reset what progress has been made in answering critical questions about who AI will hurt and who it will benefit. As these governance discussions pick up, small businesses in particular cannot be overlooked.

Conventional wisdom typically advises small businesses to adopt AI to enhance their efficiency and stay competitive. Yet adoption must be made with particular attention to security, privacy, and safety of the technology, especially in a landscape where new innovations like DeepSeek offer affordability but not a lot of security and arguably little-to-no privacy.

AI tools, when developed and deployed well, can help small businesses manage everything from inventory to customer interactions to product development to content creation. However, the learning curve is steep and the cost to onboard knowledgeable talent is significant when already investing in new or expanded technological capabilities. Without responsible AI adoption — with safety and security as top priorities —- small businesses may not be able to protect their intellectual property, their consumers, or their competitive advantage.

Large companies, especially leading AI providers and investors, must consider dedicating resources to train and support small businesses in responsibly adopting AI and public interest AI essential parts of their own AI strategy. Small businesses creating and onboarding AI systems that are secure-by-default, secure-by-design, free of bias, and privacy-preserving is an essential part of a risk mitigation strategy.

Small businesses are foundational to global economies and are often considered the heart of innovation due to their agility, creativity, and ability to address niche markets. Micro, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) account for 90 percent of all businesses, 60 to 70 percent of employment, and 50 percent of GDP worldwide, according to the United Nations.

Small and medium businesses are important parts of our cybersecurity supply chains, too — a threat to their security and resilience is a threat to the ecosystem at large. Equally as important, small businesses and startups have historically been pivotal in driving technological breakthroughs, reshaping industries, and creating economic opportunity for everyone.

If they are left behind in the AI revolution, the repercussions could be significant, not only for individual businesses but for society as a whole. Small businesses that do not effectively use AI will be unable to effectively compete in a marketplace where more and more businesses use technology to streamline operations and innovate more quickly. AI tools can help small businesses get ahead in the race for talent, and according to a recent study, small businesses equipped with generative AI are 45 percent more likely to fill open roles.

To date, small businesses that have adopted AI are using it to scale their impact in a variety of ways. One company used a generative AI tool to supplement their strategic planning, using a tool to imagine new scenarios based on ideas their team came up with. The analysis of these scenarios led to the team proposing “a new, much more integrated IT architecture to serve the organization well regardless of which future unfolded,” according to Harvard Business Review.

As the Biden administration’s 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy explained, “As past technological advancements like the internet have shown, “organizations that choose not to invest in cybersecurity negatively and unfairly impact those that do, often disproportionately impacting small businesses and our most vulnerable communities.” To ensure our collective resilience, we must share the burden of developing, purchasing, and deploying AI in ways that embed trust into business systems. (Note: Camille Stewart Gloster served as Deputy National Cyber Director at the White House from 2022 to 2024.)

Failing to do so will amplify risks, including exploitation of security vulnerabilities and weaponized bias that erodes consumer trust. These failures could lead to economic losses that reverberate across entire markets.

Currently, AI adoption among small businesses is limited: in one survey, only one in ten small and medium-sized businesses in regions like Britain, Ireland, and Canada reported regular use of AI tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini, with global adoption rates even lower.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of organizations necessitates investments in collective defense and resilience. Industry must prioritize building responsible-by-design AI systems that align with small businesses’ priorities, ensuring their protection and success. Initiatives like the Cyber Readiness Institute, a company-backed nonprofit focused on empowering small and medium-sized businesses with free tools and resources to help them become more secure and resilient, can be expanded or replicated to focus on responsible AI development and deployment. While some companies offer free AI training, much of it is not tailored to help small businesses procure and implement AI systems safely and effectively, a blind spot that ought to be addressed

This gap also presents an opportunity for industry collaboration with academia and civil society to create educational programs for MSMEs. Partnering with civil society to provide AI product assessments and system audits can further support small businesses. Venture capital, private equity, and philanthropic funding should allocate resources not only to building relevant tools and practices but also to training teams in responsible AI procurement and deployment.

Small businesses are integral to the global economy, serving as partners, suppliers, and customers for large enterprises. Cloud-based AI platforms, open-source tools, and no-code solutions are making AI more accessible, enabling small businesses to compete with larger companies. However, without adequate support and training from larger organizations, small businesses risk underutilizing these tools or neglecting essential safety measures, jeopardizing their investments, customers, and the broader ecosystem.

This is a critical moment to alter that trajectory. By fostering responsible AI adoption and supporting small businesses, industry, academia, and civil society can secure shared prosperity and safety for the global economy. Our society succeeds when everyone has the tools and know-how to not just be competitive, but to generate new ideas, new products, and new leadership.