We live in an interesting time.
Today’s digital world makes it possible for a small local shop to reach customers across the world by embracing the power of the Internet. Yet this landscape is constantly evolving and the last couple of years in particular have been dominated by the inexorable rise of AI.
We wanted to find out how business owners are adapting to this changing world and to what extent they are using tools such as AI and websites to reach new customers and make decisions.
Collectively, as part of team.blue, we surveyed a number of UK small businesses about this and received a large number of replies. The story that these responses tell is quite interesting and highlight the challenges that businesses today face when navigating a changing digital landscape.
| 1 in 5 small businesses are already using AI extensively | Smaller & younger businesses lead the way with AI adoption | Over 80% of small businesses have a company website |
Digital foundations are strong, but depth is limited
Although over 80% of UK small businesses have a website, the vast majority of them use it purely as a digital business card rather than an engine for generating revenue.
When we asked about digital tools in general, it became clear that mainstream ones such as social media (74% usage) and website builders (55% usage) are widely embraced, but more specialised solutions such as compliance and collaboration tools are yet to be fully explored.
Digital confidence depends more on size than age
The average confidence that small businesses have in choosing digital tools is around 6/10, but this increases sharply with the size of the business – for example, those with over 500 employees rate their confidence at 8/10. This is likely because those larger businesses will have a number of specialised roles that share responsibility for embracing digital tools.
AI adoption is growing, but uneven
It’s clear that AI adoption by UK small businesses is well underway, as 1 in 5 of our respondents use it extensively and a third are already experimenting with it.
However, one of the more interesting results we discovered from this survey is that enthusiasm for AI tapers off the older the company is. This may reflect a tendency amongst more established businesses to stick to their tried and tested operational practices.
Trust, reliability & data privacy are major concerns
Nearly half of all the businesses we surveyed told us they trusted AI less than human-led solutions. This makes it abundantly clear that the emotion that can be imbued into human skill and craftsmanship is still very much valued.
Tellingly, over 88% of businesses told us they are worried about trust, reliability and data privacy when using AI tools. When paired with the previous statistic about human-led solutions, the data paints a very clear picture: the relationships and emotional connections that humans can produce will continue to be greatly preferred for some time to come.
Businesses want clarity, simplicity & human guidance
A significant number of SMEs are unclear on where to start with new technologies. A quarter of them would value a clear step-by-step guide to support them and almost a fifth were looking for training such as workshops or webinars.
It’s evident that many businesses feel the digital landscape is confusing and regularly changing. Understandably, this causes them to value guidance that feels human and trustworthy.
Conclusion
With this survey, we set out to understand how the UK’s small businesses are navigating an ever-changing digital landscape. We were particularly focused on analysing AI adoption, as the rise of AI could bring about transformative change of the like that hasn’t been seen in decades.
Here’s a quick summary of what we found:
- The UK’s SMEs are digitally active, but not necessarily digitally advanced
- Progress is limited more by time, clarity and skills than by motivation
- AI adoption is happening fastest in younger, smaller, more agile businesses
- The market is clearly asking for simple, trusted, guided solutions – especially those that make digital tools feel accessible and safe
About names.co.uk
Founded in 1997, names.co.uk is a leading British internet services provider that offers online solutions for SMEs and individuals. It specialises in domain name registration, web hosting, email hosting, website builders, ecommerce applications and dedicated servers. Recent additions to its product range include an online booking tool, as well as a digital compliance and accessibility solution.
Since 2019 names.co.uk has been the principal UK brand of team.blue, a European powerhouse of technology companies that helps entrepreneurs and established businesses achieve their online ambitions. Collectively, the group operates across 22 countries, manages over 5 million domains and has more than 3 million customers.
