The new small business story isn’t one of blind optimism nor fear of automation. It’s about the tension between opposing forces of ambition and achievement, experimentation and efficiency, creativity and control.
This report explores how small business owners are navigating this space, where AI can feel like both a complication and a catalyst. It uncovers how those who embrace AI tools strategically are reclaiming their time, creativity, and competitive edge.
If you run a small business right now, you’re living in a strange overlap: unlimited ambition, uncertain activity, and an internet that keeps insisting that you (and your AI) should be “10x’ing” everything before lunch.
Everywhere you look, someone’s promising that AI will transform your business overnight. And if you’re a solopreneur or small-team operator, that message can feel…complicated. On the one hand, the possibilities are exciting. On the other, you’re thinking: “I still have invoices to send, a customer asking for a rush turnaround, and a product launch breathing down my neck.”
AI hasn’t magically erased the pressure. If anything, it’s just raised the bar.
Now you’re not just competing with bigger companies. You’re competing with the idea that you should be faster, more creative, more available, and more strategic.
Third-party research conducted on behalf of Zoom and Upwork by Current Forward, a U.S.-based research firm, surveyed more than a thousand U.S. solopreneurs and small business owners1. The findings confirm the impact of AI on this shift, while identifying:
What they’re using AI for in their workday
How it helps their business grow (and the ROI they’ve seen so far)
The strategic value of AI
Overwhelmingly, the survey’s findings confirmed the importance of AI for small businesses:
report that AI had a net positive impact on revenue
of small businesses said AI helped them reduce their business costs
of small businesses said they’ve been using AI since day one
report that AI has helped them increase their revenue
of small businesses said AI helped them reduce their business costs
of small businesses said they’ve been using AI since day one
Simply put, AI isnt replacing the hustle. It’s reshaping it.
1 Methodology: Unless otherwise noted, all findings draw from research conducted in partnership with Current Forward and Upwork between July and August 2025. This research included an online survey of 1,011 U.S.-based solopreneurs and small business owners (fewer than 50 FTEs) who use AI tools for business at least several times per month, as well as a digital ethnography study of 13 solopreneurs and small business owners on the Upwork platform to more deeply explore how they incorporate AI into their business practices.
“It feels like I always have a creative partner or research assistant, a strategist and copywriter all in one, and whenever I want it.”
Small business owner, Texas