More Than Three Quarters of Small Business Owners Say AI Makes Them More Productive, But Most Need More Guidance

01 / The short version

What happened

Meta commissioned a YouGov study of 3,983 small business owners across nine APAC markets, conducted online between 6 August and 2 September 2026. The publisher reports that 84% of surveyed owners currently use AI, with 76% citing a positive productivity impact and 71% citing a positive revenue or sales impact over the past 12 months. Meta states that 86% of owners say small businesses need more guidance to gain AI's full benefits, with cost cited as the leading training barrier by 51%. Meta highlights its Small Business Growth Academy and AI-enabled tools such as Advantage+, WhatsApp click-to-ads, and Meta Business Agent. The findings are not nationally representative and adoption and impact differ across markets.

02 / Key takeaways

What you need to know

1. 01

   84% of surveyed APAC small business owners currently use AI, per Meta-commissioned YouGov study.

2. 02

   76% report positive productivity impact and 71% report positive revenue or sales impact over 12 months, per Meta.

3. 03

   86% say small businesses need more AI guidance; 51% cite cost as leading training barrier, per Meta.