66% of Small Businesses Now Use AI — Thryv 2026 Report Shows 70% Revenue Increase

A new report from Thryv released on July 9, 2026, provides the most comprehensive look yet at how US small businesses are actually using AI — not the hypothetical, not the aspirational, but the real data from owners who have deployed tools and measured the outcomes across thousands of businesses nationwide.

The headline numbers are striking: 66% of small businesses now use AI in their operations, up from 55% in 2025. But the real story is in what happens after adoption — and the numbers are better than most owners expect.

The Key Numbers From the Thryv 2026 Report

Thryv surveyed US small business owners across industries for their annual AI adoption report, released on July 9, 2026. The sample covers the full spectrum of American small business — from solo operators to teams of 50, across retail, services, construction, healthcare, and professional services. Here is what the data shows:

• 66% adoption rate — up 11 percentage points from 55% in 2025, representing accelerated mainstream adoption
• 70% of AI users report revenue increases — directly linking AI use to top-line growth
• 83% save significant time — typically 11-40 hours per month per employee
• 55% have reduced operating costs — AI is not just a growth tool but a margin improvement tool
• 81% say AI helps with strategic decisions — beyond automation, AI is being used for business intelligence
• 86% view AI as an opportunity — not a threat to their business model
• Nearly 70% cite a skills or training gap — the main barrier is not access but knowing how to use tools effectively

These figures come from owners who have deployed real tools — not tech enthusiasts, not early adopters, but the broad cross-section of American small business operators. The sample includes businesses with annual revenue from $50,000 to $10 million, across urban and rural markets, with and without dedicated IT staff. This is not a Silicon Valley snapshot. It is a Main Street report.

Why 70% of AI Users See Revenue Growth

The revenue increase finding is the most important number in the report. It suggests AI is not just an efficiency play — it is actively driving growth for businesses that deploy it well.

Based on the report’s findings and industry context, the revenue growth breaks down across several mechanisms:

Customer acquisition. AI tools for marketing, content creation, and customer outreach allow small businesses to compete with larger competitors on marketing spend and sophistication. A single owner can now generate the same volume of targeted content as a marketing team, reaching more potential customers at lower cost.

Customer retention. AI-powered CRM tools, automated follow-ups, and personalized communication improve customer experience without adding staff. Multiple studies in 2026 show that AI-driven personalization increases repeat purchase rates by 15-30% for small businesses.

Operational capacity. The 11-40 hours per month that owners save translates directly into more time for revenue-generating activities. An owner who recovers 20 hours per month can take on additional clients, develop new products, or improve service quality without hiring.

Better pricing decisions. AI pricing optimization tools, covered extensively in 2026, help small businesses adjust prices dynamically based on demand, competitor activity, and cost changes — capturing margin that was previously left on the table.

Time Savings: The 11-40 Hour Per Month Window

The 83% of users who report time savings typically save between 11 and 40 hours per month. To put that in perspective:

• 11 hours per month = roughly 1.5 working days recovered
• 40 hours per month = a full work week recovered every month

For a solo owner or a small team, this is the difference between running the business and growing the business. The time savings come from automating repetitive tasks: invoicing, scheduling, customer follow-ups, social media posting, email sorting, data entry, and basic content creation.

The report notes that AI is helping owners “do more with less,” with many preferring AI tools over hiring for certain tasks. In a labor market where finding qualified employees remains difficult, AI fills the gap without the overhead of additional headcount.

The Training Gap: 70% of Owners Need More Skills

Despite the positive adoption numbers, nearly 70% of small business owners say they lack the training or skills to fully leverage AI. This is not a technology access problem — it is an education problem.

The gap manifests in specific ways:

• Prompt engineering. Most owners do not know how to craft effective prompts that produce usable output. They try once, get mediocre results, and assume AI does not work for their business.
• Tool selection. With hundreds of AI tools launching monthly, owners are overwhelmed by choice and often pick the wrong tool for their specific need.
• Workflow integration. Knowing which tasks to automate and how to fit AI tools into existing processes is a skill that most owners have not developed.
• Output evaluation. Without training, owners cannot consistently distinguish between good AI output and output that looks good but contains errors.

The report suggests that the next wave of AI adoption will be driven not by better tools but by better training. The tools are already good enough. The bottleneck is human capability.

What the Thryv Report Means for US Small Business Owners

For owners who are not yet using AI, the 66% adoption figure sends a clear signal: waiting on the sidelines is becoming a competitive disadvantage. When two-thirds of your competitors are saving 11-40 hours per month, reducing costs, and seeing revenue increases, the gap between adopters and non-adopters is widening every quarter.

For owners who are already using AI, the report validates that the investment is paying off — and suggests that deeper training and broader deployment would likely yield additional returns. The 55% who report cost reductions are not using exotic tools. They are using the same platforms available to every business: ChatGPT for customer communication, Claude for content and analysis, Canva for design, Zapier for workflow automation, and specialized tools for their industry vertical.

The training gap, while a challenge, is also an opportunity. Owners who invest in AI skills now will have a capability advantage that becomes harder to close as the technology evolves. The tools change every quarter, but the skill of knowing how to apply AI to business problems compounds over time. Bridging the gap does not require expensive courses — the most effective approach reported by Thryv respondents was structured, incremental learning applied directly to their specific business problems, not general AI education.

Industry Breakdown: Where AI Is Working Best

While the Thryv report covers all small businesses, the data reveals differences across industries. Professional services — legal, accounting, consulting, marketing agencies — show the highest adoption rates and the strongest ROI. The reason is straightforward: these businesses run on information processing, which is exactly what current AI tools excel at.

Retail and e-commerce businesses show strong adoption driven by customer service AI, inventory management, and marketing automation. The 11x growth in Shopify AI-attributed orders from 2025 reinforces why retail operators are adopting faster than other verticals.

Construction and trades show slower adoption, but the businesses that use AI report the highest relative gains in time savings because manual estimating, scheduling, and client communication are such large parts of the workflow.

Food service and hospitality adoption is climbing as operators discover AI tools for reservation management, review response automation, and kitchen waste reduction systems.

How to Close the Training Gap: A Practical Guide

The Thryv report makes clear that training is the bottleneck. Here is a practical path for owners who want to close it:

• Start with one tool. Pick the single highest-impact task in your business — customer service responses, social media content, email drafting, invoice management — and learn one tool deeply before adding more.
• Use built-in training resources. Most major AI platforms (Claude, ChatGPT, Jasper, Zapier) offer free tutorials, templates, and use-case guides designed for non-technical users.
• Join peer communities. Small business AI groups on platforms like Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn share practical workflows and tool recommendations that save hours of trial and error.
• Audit your repetitive tasks. Spend one week tracking every task you do more than three times. Those are the automation candidates. Rank them by time spent and start with the top three.
• Re-evaluate quarterly. AI tools improve rapidly. A tool that did not meet your needs three months ago may now have the exact feature you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of small businesses use AI in 2026?

66% according to the Thryv 2026 Small Business AI Report, up from 55% in 2025.

How many small businesses see revenue from AI?

70% of small business owners using AI report revenue increases, according to the Thryv report.

How much time does AI save small businesses?

83% of AI users report saving 11-40 hours per month. This is the most consistently cited benefit across multiple 2026 surveys.

Is AI adoption still growing among small businesses?

Yes. Adoption rose from 55% to 66% between 2025 and 2026, with 86% of owners viewing AI as an opportunity rather than a threat.

What is the biggest barrier to AI adoption for small businesses?

Nearly 70% of small business owners cite a skills or training gap as the main barrier. The tools are available and affordable, but many owners do not know how to use them effectively.