By @proactive_x
Publication Date: 2025-11-26 15:02:00
Australia’s small business sector has spent the better part of a decade struggling with sluggish productivity, rising operating costs and tighter labor markets. Now Deloitte’s new AI Edge for SMBs report – based on a nationwide survey of 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Australia – points to an unusually large opportunity that appears to be hidden: if just one in 10 SMBs took even a small step in AI maturity, the resulting increase in efficiency and profitability could add $44 billion to the Australian economy.
This is an impressive number and highlights a turning point for SMBs as the conversation about AI moves beyond hype to practical questions about productivity, systems and capabilities. SMBs are not asking whether AI will matter – two-thirds already use at least one AI-powered tool – but rather how to put it to good use and scale beyond ad hoc experiments.
