Why SMBs are the perfect audience to adopt agentic AI

Artificial intelligence isn’t just reshaping Fortune 500 companies, it’s changing how small and medium businesses operate every single day and SMBs are taking note. 

While initial hesitation was understandable that attitude has drastically shifted. Our 2023 SMB survey revealed that most small businesses cited “not understanding how AI will help their business” as the main barrier to adoption. Fast forward to our end-of-2024 survey, and the barrier is no longer about understanding AI’s value; it’s about knowing how to implement it effectively. 

SMBs are intrigued by AI, but they’re still a bit hesitant. Our data shows that though only 33% of SMBs were using AI in their business in the beginning of 2024, 39% said they intended to begin using AI in their business throughout 2025. 

And now, with agentic AI in the picture, SMBs stand to gain tremendously. Unlike basic AI tools that require constant human input, agentic AI can manage business processes autonomously and handle complex tasks without the need for physical human intervention. From the local business consultant automatically scheduling client follow-ups to the plumbing service answering customer calls while the owner is knee-deep under a sink, agentic AI has become the ultimate business sidekick for SMBs worldwide.

We believe SMBs are the perfect audience to adopt agentic AI, and this shift will happen faster than most people think. Here’s why.

They desperately need it

Let’s be honest: most small business owners didn’t start their ventures because they love administrative work. They opened their doors because they’re passionate about their craft. Yet our survey revealed that admin tasks are the most time-consuming business processes.

Tasks like marketing campaign management, billing and invoicing, appointment scheduling, and client follow-ups pull business owners away from their “real work” that they’re genuinely passionate about.

This creates a perfect storm of opportunity for SMB service providers. When organizations position agentic AI as a tool that gives business owners their time back, they’re not just selling technology, they’re selling freedom and the ability to focus on revenue-generating activities. Imagine offering a local fitness trainer a solution where they can focus entirely on helping clients reach their goals while their AI agent handles class scheduling, payment processing, and even sends personalized workout reminders. That’s not just efficiency, it directly impacts their bottom line.

Agentic AI gives them a look into what’s working for others

One of the biggest challenges small business owners face is operating in isolation. Unlike large corporations with dedicated research teams and market analysts, SMBs often make decisions with limited local knowledge. Agentic AI changes this dynamic entirely.

Agentic AI uses data to learn from broad behavioral patterns and can manage business processes autonomously while optimizing operations. This gives SMBs access to constantly updated insights that can help them optimize prices, processes, and practices based on what’s actually working in the market.

Consider a local home renovation contractor. An AI agent can recommend optimal project timelines, suggest pricing strategies based on successful patterns from thousands of similar businesses, and even identify the most effective client communication approaches, without sharing sensitive information. The contractor gets access to collective market intelligence that would otherwise require expensive industry consultants or years of trial and error.

SMBs lack crucial resources that agentic AI can fill

The majority of small businesses operate as one-person teams leaving them to play the role of the CEO, sales team, customer service representative, accountant, and janitor all rolled into one exhausted individual. They’re juggling client work, administrative tasks, sales calls, and customer support, often working nights and weekends just to keep everything afloat.

The ability to delegate would be golden for these business owners, and agentic AI makes that possible. Think of it as hiring the most reliable employee imaginable, one that never gets sick, doesn’t take vacation days, works 24/7, and is constantly learning and improving at their job.

But it goes beyond just having extra hands. Just because someone opened a small business doesn’t automatically make them an expert in marketing strategy, financial planning, customer psychology, or operational optimization. Agentic AI can analyze problems, develop strategies, and act on them based on preset goals, effectively wearing all of these expert hats simultaneously.

Using vast amounts of both external market data and business-specific information, agentic AI empowers small business owners to make confident, data-driven decisions in areas where they might lack expertise. For service providers offering agentic AI solutions to their SMB clients, this represents an opportunity to provide genuine business consulting value alongside technology implementation. 

Agentic AI reduces revenue loss due to lack of availability

Client communication is absolutely critical for SMBs, yet maintaining consistent availability is nearly impossible for solo entrepreneurs or small teams. This creates a loss in revenue that most small businesses simply cannot afford.

Here’s a scenario every service-based business owner knows too well: a plumber is crawling under a sink, completely focused on fixing a leak, when their phone starts ringing. It’s a potential new client who found them online and needs urgent service. But the plumber can’t answer, they’re upside down with a wrench in hand. By the time they finish the job and check their voicemail, that potential customer has already called the next plumber on Google and booked with whoever answered first.

Agentic AI solves this problem elegantly. It can respond to client inquiries, answer calls with natural conversation, schedule appointments automatically, and even generate accurate estimates based on project parameters. This means SMBs can appear available 24/7 and maintain a professional image regardless of when customers try to connect. The plumber can stay focused on fixing the leak while their AI agent books three more appointments and provides detailed estimates for the following week.

For SMB service providers, this capability represents a massive value proposition. By offering agentic AI solutions that handle client communication and scheduling, organizations can help their SMB clients capture revenue that would otherwise slip away due to availability constraints.

They have fewer legal and compliance hurdles

Large corporations have plenty of obstacles when implementing new technology. Procurement departments, legal reviews, compliance audits, security assessments, and vendor approval processes can take months or even years. SMBs operate in a completely different world.

When a small business owner sees a tool that can solve their problems and improve their bottom line, the decision-making process is pretty straightforward. If the solution is valuable and intuitive enough, adoption can happen almost immediately. There’s no committee to convince, no 50-page security review to complete, and no quarterly budget approval process to navigate.

This agility is a massive competitive advantage for SMBs in the AI adoption race. While large enterprises are discussing AI implementation, smart small businesses are already testing, adopting, and benefiting from agentic AI solutions.

SMBs will adopt agentic AI faster than you think

The data points to an inevitable conclusion: SMBs are perfectly positioned to adopt agentic AI, and smart service providers need to position themselves now.

The revenue protection aspect alone is compelling. Agentic AI eliminates the devastating loss of potential customers who can’t reach busy SMB owners during peak work hours. It handles client communication, scheduling, and estimate generation 24/7, ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks.

Perhaps most importantly, SMBs can move fast. While large corporations navigate months of procurement processes and compliance reviews, small businesses can evaluate and implement solutions that deliver immediate value within days or weeks.

SMBs that embrace agentic AI early will operate with efficiency and insights that give them significant competitive advantages over those who wait. For the service providers who recognize this trend and offer comprehensive agentic AI solutions now, the opportunity to capture market share and build deeper client relationships has never been greater.

This isn’t a question of if SMBs will adopt agentic AI, the data shows it’s already happening. The question is which organizations will guide this transformation and benefit from the significant business opportunity it represents.