In the Chamber’s 2025 Empowering Small Business Report, it found that 58% of small businesses owners are using generative AI, a percentage that has steadily been growing since 2023. And 20% of them are using some kind of generative AI coding tool, such as Replit or GitHub Copilot, to save time and improve efficiency in their work.
“What we’re finding with coding tools, much like we're finding with generative AI in general, is that it’s a force multiplier. It's helping small businesses get off the ground and grow, and because of that, they're able to bring in more resources and they can hire more people who can help them interact with customers and help out with the tasks they need,” Crenshaw says.
READ MORE: How AI-powered virtual assistants will transform SMBs.
Another generative AI coding tool is Amazon Q Developer, which helps move the entire development lifecycle at lightning pace. Still, at the core of these solutions is a human touch.
“When preparing to implement AI coding tools, SMBs must also remember that AI is meant to augment human abilities,” Ben Schreiner, head of AI and modern data strategy business development for the SMB sector at Amazon Web Services, told BizTech. “There must always be humans in the loop to verify that AI is acting and responding responsibly and accurately.”
Other Lessons from the 2025 Chamber Report
For SMBs that aren’t using generative AI, their top three concerns are about the quality of the tools, the cost and legal or compliance issues. About 16% of SMB owners are unsure about whether their workforce is ready to use such tools.
But SMB owners want their employees to be able to use AI, so 41% have provided access to AI tools in the hopes that they learn to use them, while 39% are offering training on the job. “It's a mix of recruitment but also upskilling within their organizations,” Crenshaw adds.
DISCOVER: Why SMBs struggle with tool sprawl and how to get it under control.
He notes that the lack of unified guidance around AI is another major concern for SMB owners, especially if there are going to be different regulatory approaches across 50 states.
“What we have found in this report is that we have a record number of small businesses this year that are concerned about a 50-state patchwork of laws that would make it difficult for them to compete with larger companies,” Crenshaw says. “A lot of these companies may view that it will be too expensive to use these tools, or they may opt not to use these tools if regulation continues to go forward in a way that creates confusion.”
A handful of states, such as California, Colorado and Texas, have passed AI regulations tackling various aspects, but a national standard is still out of reach, complicating matters for SMBs.
“We want to see a national framework on AI so that we don’t have a complex set of rules to adopt this game-changing tech,” Crenshaw says. The Chamber and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recently announced a widespread effort to train 40,000 small businesses on AI. Google is also supporting the initiative, called Small Business B(AI)sics.
