Australian small businesses see AI boost jobs & revenue

Intuit has published research on AI use by small and mid-sized businesses in Australia and three other countries, finding that more Australian businesses linked AI to higher employment than to job losses.

The report draws on anonymised administrative data from more than 5.3 million QuickBooks businesses and surveys of more than 34,000 businesses in Australia, the US, the UK and Canada. It presents AI as a tool for expansion and efficiency rather than broad labour reduction.

In Australia, 19% of businesses using AI said employment had increased as a result of the technology, while 6% said employment had declined. Similar patterns appeared across the other markets covered by the study.

AI use among Australian small and mid-sized businesses has also risen sharply. Regular adoption almost doubled over 18 months, from 40% in July 2024 to 69% in January 2026, while daily use rose from 9% to 28% over the same period.

Among Australian respondents already using AI, 79% said it had improved productivity. That was up from 37% in mid-2024 and slightly ahead of the 78% reported in the US and 73% in the UK.

The Australian sample also showed positive revenue effects. About 43% of businesses said AI had lifted revenue, while only 3% to 4% reported declines. A quarter said costs had fallen.

AI use in accounting, administration and marketing had become common, and 12% of businesses said the technology was now a core part of how they ran their operations. The findings suggest adoption has moved beyond experimentation for a meaningful share of smaller firms.

Adoption barriers

The research also points to why some businesses remain hesitant. In Australia, privacy and security concerns were the most commonly cited barrier, mentioned by 39% of respondents.

That figure was higher than in the US, the UK and Canada, where the same concern was cited by 36%, 35% and 36% of businesses respectively. Limited knowledge of what AI can do, and concern about using it incorrectly, were also highlighted as major obstacles to wider uptake.

Suzy Nicoletti, Regional Vice President, Intuit APAC, linked those barriers to a broader confidence problem among smaller businesses.

"The productivity and revenue gains we're seeing among Australian businesses that have genuinely integrated AI aren't marginal, they're the difference between a business that grows and one that treads water. But access was never really the barrier. The three biggest blockers are privacy concerns, limited knowledge of what AI can do, and fear of getting it wrong. That's a confidence problem, and confidence problems have a solution. Australia's 40,000-plus accountants and bookkeepers are already trusted by practically every small business in the country. Equip them well on AI, and you close the confidence gap at scale," Nicoletti said.

Policy debate

The findings arrive amid a broader debate about how public policy should support digital adoption by smaller companies. Intuit argued that while measures such as the permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off and AUD $62 million in funding for the Consumer Data Right were positive, direct support for adopting AI-enabled and digital tools was absent.

That reflects a wider concern that many small businesses may still struggle to invest in software and training even as evidence of returns grows stronger. For policymakers and industry groups, the question is whether market-led uptake will be enough to close the gap between early adopters and firms that remain cautious.

Andrew McKellar, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the figures underlined the pressures facing smaller firms and the appeal of technology that saves time.

"This data shows how important AI, or indeed any productivity-improving tool, is for Australian small businesses. Our small business community is both time-poor and dealing with rising cost pressures, and it's clear that they are adopting AI tools in increasing numbers to help on both those fronts. Used effectively, AI can deliver practical productivity gains, free up time, improve efficiency, and support better work-life balance. These findings should provide more businesses with the confidence to turn AI curiosity into action. AI adoption is now a competitive imperative, and ACCI is supporting small and mid‐sized businesses to build the digital capability and confidence needed to adopt it," McKellar said.

The study suggests Australia is broadly in line with other English-speaking markets on headline adoption, with 69% of businesses reporting regular AI use, compared with 70% in the UK, 77% in the US and 69% in Canada. More notable is the speed of change in Australia and the extent to which users link AI to gains in output, revenue and staffing.

The data covered the period from 2021 to 2025, with surveys conducted between July 2024 and January 2026, giving the report a view across the recent surge in business interest in generative AI and related tools.