Small business owners are turning to AI to manage their many companies especially creative tasks: survey
The average small business owner wears five “hats” on any given day, according to new research — and not all of them fit.A survey of 1,000 American small business owners found that today’s entrepreneur is simultaneously playing customer service representative (54%), marketer (44%), bookkeeper (43%), social media manager (41%) and creative director (35%), often with little idea of how much each role would demand.With all of those “hats,” the average entrepreneur is working over 200 bonus hours annually.One in four small business owners surveyed admit that they carry the burden of tasks they don’t feel qualified for without seeking outside help.More than half (54%) said they spend more time on creative and marketing tasks than they anticipated when they launched and 56% reported that those tasks pull them away from core business operations at least once a week.Commissioned by Adobe Express and conducted by Talker Research, the survey found that only one in five (20%) felt fully prepared to handle the creative and brand marketing demands of today’s marketplace when starting their business.The “creative cluster” tasks — spanning design and branding, social media and marketing — top the “hats” small business owners want off their plates.With confidence lacking in the creative and marketing fields, 69% would prefer to outsource creative work in some form.And for most owners of small to medium businesses, outsourcing the marketing hat to someone else isn’t an option.
While many (41%) cite cost as a barrier, 37% also reported wanting to stay close to the process and 33% reported having concerns about maintaining quality.Half of small business owner respondents (50%) say they use AI tools regularly or occasionally.They most commonly turn to AI for research (56%), with design and visual content creation a close second (46%).When asked where AI delivers the most value, 30% of respondents find design and visual content creation most valuable when...