From admin automation to new revenue streams, discover why smart SMBs are using AI to outpace bigger competitors this year.
The AI revolution isn’t just for tech giants anymore. While many small and medium businesses are still sitting on the sidelines, wondering if artificial intelligence is worth the investment, the numbers tell a compelling story: 91% of SMBs using AI report revenue boosts. Yet adoption remains surprisingly low across Australia, with just 35% of businesses taking the plunge.
John-Daniel Trask, CEO at Autohive, discusses why most businesses are missing out on this transformative opportunity and how they can build an AI strategy that actually drives growth into FY26 and beyond.
The current state of SMB AI adoption
The disconnect between AI’s proven benefits and actual adoption rates reveals a significant market opportunity. Trask points to some stark realities: “According to research, 91 percent of SMBs that use AI say it boosts their revenue, however, uptake among small businesses is low, with just 35% of Aussie SMBs adopting AI, 23% unaware of how to use the technology, and 42% not planning to adopt AI at all.”
This hesitancy comes at a critical time. “In the ever-changing landscape, organisations that fail to develop strong AI strategies may get left behind,” Trask warns. But for SMBs willing to embrace the technology, the timing couldn’t be better.
Starting with the mundane
The key to successful AI implementation, according to Trask, lies not in grand technological visions but in tackling everyday inefficiencies. “Administrative tasks can be a major burden for SMBs, slowing down efficiency and reducing effectiveness. Sluggish processes are the enemy of growth and business success after all.”
The solution involves a systematic approach to identifying bottlenecks. “To power up and streamline your workflow, it’s best to identify where the bottlenecks are and consider what tasks can be automated by AI tools – it’s likely more tasks than you currently think,” Trask explains.
He emphasizes the transformative potential of AI agents: “AI agents, for example, can increasingly perform much of the menial, unwanted tasks you and your team are burdened with – taking care of the mundane – while you focus on high-impact, high-value work.”
The applications span across industries. “Whether your business is a law firm looking to free up lawyers to move away from the admin weeds to focus on high-value legal strategy, or a marketing agency wanting to break through the shackles of project management to refocus on powerful creative solutions, AI can fasten, streamline, and power-up your ops,” Trask notes.
Aligning AI with business goals
Successful AI implementation requires strategic alignment rather than technology for technology’s sake. “Everything in a business, if it’s to be effective, must be singing from the same sheet. AI implementation is no different. A successful strategy, if it’s to be effective, must also align with your business’s overall goals,” Trask emphasizes.
The key is identifying specific objectives first. “Whether the goal is boosting lead generation, reducing overheads, optimising the supply chain, streamlining your team’s workflow, or increasing sales, it’s important to choose the AI tools that will help your team reach those goals.”
Trask highlights how AI agents can serve multiple business functions: “The right AI agents, for example, can take care of mundane tasks to streamline the workflow, boost productivity and help teams reach and exceed their goals. AI agents can also help to identify better customer leads, target the right leads for boosted sales, prioritise follow-ups and more.”
The bottom line, he says, is specificity: “Ultimately, the tools must speak to and align with your team’s specific needs––to target growth and success like never before.”
Hidden revenue opportunities
Beyond operational efficiency, Trask sees significant revenue potential in AI adoption. “One of the strengths of AI is that it can open significant revenue opportunities for small businesses,” he explains.
Some of these opportunities involve creating new income streams: “For example, there are AI agents and tools available that allow users to both implement AI solutions within their business and create new revenue streams by selling their most successful AI agents to others.”
Traditional business processes also benefit dramatically. “AI can also assist in the creation of high value documents, like client proposals and reports, in minutes instead of days,” Trask notes.
The technology’s impact on customer relationships is particularly noteworthy: “Used correctly, it can also increase conversion and timeliness, as you can create personalised communications based on customer history, analyse customer feedback to spot emerging trends, and turn complex data sets into actionable business insights.”
Scaling considerations
One critical mistake Trask observes is short-term thinking in AI tool selection. “One mistake many organisations make when implementing solutions is that they solve for today without thinking far enough into the future. If you’re planning on hiring, it’s essential to adopt AI tools that will scale up and down with your business.”
He recommends looking for flexible pricing structures: “The right AI solutions, for example, will offer flexible pricing structures, and the ability to move between tiers easily. For example, there might be a freemium tier, customer tier, or agency/creator tier that can be used interchangeably based on your level of usage.”
AI can also transform hiring strategies. “The right AI tools should also enable you to be more considered with your hiring strategy as you scale. For example, AI can unlock the potential to make that senior hire that you have been craving – with its ability to pick up some of the more administrative tasks and thus unlocking the need for experienced, strategic personnel within your team.”
Measuring what matters
Proving AI’s value requires a systematic approach to measurement. “How can you prove that a technology platform or tool is truly benefiting your organisation? The only way to understand ROI is to test, measure, and learn,” Trask states.
He advocates for moving beyond assumptions: “Gone are the days of guesswork, it’s now simpler than ever to get specific with the numbers, measure precisely what impact a tool has had, and make tweaks as necessary.”
The testing process itself can reveal new opportunities: “As you test and learn, you might spot additional slowdowns that could be impacting your team, ways to better leverage the AI tools, and new uses to boost efficiency and effectiveness.”
Perhaps most importantly, AI can assist in its own evaluation: “Best of all – you can even use AI to do the testing and result collating – measuring concrete business outcomes, like time saved, money saved, and net revenue per employee – not just technical metrics.”
For Trask, the message is clear: the technology exists, and the opportunity is immediate. “The technology is already there. Now’s your chance to leverage it for turbocharged growth today, into FY26, and beyond.”
With the new financial year presenting a natural inflection point, SMBs that develop robust AI strategies now position themselves to outpace competitors still hesitating on the sidelines. The question isn’t whether AI will transform small business operations – it’s whether your business will be leading or following that transformation.
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