Depending on who you ask, somewhere between 12% and two-thirds of Australian businesses use AI. The numbers differ because each survey measures a different group of businesses and defines “using AI” differently. The most useful reading for a small business owner is that many firms have started, but few have gone deep, and trust is the main brake.
The NAIC tracker: 44% of SMEs in February 2026
The National AI Centre (NAIC) publishes the most regular series. Its latest release, “AI adoption insights: December 2025 to February 2026”, published on 7 May 2026, reports that 44% of SMEs were adopting AI in February 2026. For the whole December to February quarter the figure was 43%, down from 45% in September to November 2025.
Here is how NAIC measures it. The data comes from a monthly “SME AI Pulse” run by Fifth Quadrant. Each month about 400 SME owners and decision-makers complete the survey, and results are weighted by industry, location and employee size. Responses may come from different SMEs over time, so it is a snapshot, not a study that follows the same firms. Firms range from 0 to 500 employees.
The definition matters. NAIC counts any level of use, from “use AI broadly across our business” downward. So a business that occasionally uses a chatbot is counted as an adopter.
Why businesses are not adopting
NAIC asked businesses why they do not intend to adopt AI in the next 12 months. The main reasons were:
- Around 65% of non-adopters cited distrust of AI decision-making or a strong preference to keep human control.
- 54% of non-adopters said AI is not relevant to their business.
- 19% of SMEs said they do not know how to use AI in their business, up 2% on the previous quarter.
What adopters use it for, and where
Among adopters (using or planning), the top uses were content generation at 54%, data analytics at 54% and cybersecurity or threat detection at 48%.
Sectors vary. Fewer than 30% of Construction and Agriculture businesses are adopting AI, while more than half in the Health and Education and Services sectors are.
One finding stands out for any owner. About half of users check AI outputs before they affect customers. NAIC also found that customer transparency and complaint processes lag behind.
The ABS figure: 12% of all businesses
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its 2024-25 business AI results on 25 June 2026. It found about 12% of businesses used AI in 2024-25. This is a different measure from NAIC’s. It covers all businesses, not only SMEs, and it came from a survey of nearly 7,000 businesses, with fieldwork from October 2025 to February 2026.
The ABS breakdown by size:
- Large businesses: about 35%, up from 9% in 2021-22.
- Medium businesses: 22%, up from 3%.
- Small and micro businesses: about 11%.
Innovation-active small businesses were far more likely to use AI, at 19% compared with 4% of small businesses with no innovation activity. By industry, Information, media and telecommunications led at 38%, followed by Professional, scientific and technical services and Financial and insurance services, both at 24%.
Other surveys
NAB: 42%
NAB’s SME survey on AI, published in April 2026, found 42% of SMEs use AI, 44% do not, 14% plan to and 16% say AI will not benefit them. Fieldwork ran from 10 November to 9 December 2025 with about 670 non-farm SMEs. Property Services (69%), Finance and Insurance (64%) and Business Services (61%) were highest, and Retail (22%) was lowest. The most common uses were marketing and sales (51%) and operations (39%).
Deloitte: two-thirds, but 5% fully enabled
Deloitte Access Economics surveyed more than 1,000 small and medium businesses in a release dated 25 November 2025. Using its own AI Maturity Index, it found two-thirds of SMBs use AI, but only 5% are “fully enabled”. It modelled a scenario in which one in ten businesses in the basic and intermediate groups moved up one level. That would add $44bn a year to GDP. Deloitte also reported that one-third of non-users do not know where to start.
KPMG and the University of Melbourne: trust
The 2025 global study “Trust, attitudes and use of AI”, run with Melbourne Business School across 47 countries, shows how Australians feel. In Australia, 50% use AI regularly and 36% are willing to trust it. Only 30% believe the benefits outweigh the risks, the lowest of the countries surveyed. Also, 24% have had AI training.
The workplace findings are blunt. Of employees who use AI, 48% said they had used it in ways that contravene policy, and 57% said they had relied on AI output without checking it. Only 30% said their organisation has a generative AI policy. The page we read did not state the Australian sample size or fieldwork dates.
Why the numbers differ
You cannot line these figures up and call one right. ABS counts all businesses, most of them micro and small. NAIC covers SMEs only and counts any use. NAB and Deloitte use their own samples and definitions. ScaleSuite, a consultancy, describes the ABS figure as coming from a workplace-use definition and calls it the most conservative of the main sources, while NAIC’s figure counts any level of adoption. That is ScaleSuite’s reading, not an official statement from either body.
When you see an adoption percentage, ask three questions. Who was surveyed? What counts as “using AI”? When was it collected?
The economic stakes
The Productivity Commission’s interim report, published on 5 August 2025, said AI will likely add more than $116bn to Australian economic activity over the next decade, while noting that the full effects of AI on productivity are still uncertain. Treat it as an estimate, not a forecast.
What this means for your business
Across these surveys, access is not the main problem. The tools are available, and many businesses have tried them. The gap is depth and trust.
- Deloitte’s 5% “fully enabled” figure suggests most users are still at the basic stage.
- NAIC’s finding that about half of users check AI outputs suggests the other half are exposed to errors.
- KPMG’s findings on unchecked output and missing policies point to the same risk.
- Non-adopters mostly cite trust and relevance, not cost.
For an SME, a sensible next step is small and specific. Pick one repeatable task, set a rule for who checks the output, write a one-page AI policy and measure the time saved.
Key takeaways
- NAIC: 44% of SMEs adopting AI in February 2026, counting any level of use.
- ABS: about 12% of all businesses used AI in 2024-25, with 11% of small and micro businesses.
- NAB found 42% of SMEs use AI. Deloitte found two-thirds use it, but only 5% are fully enabled.
- The surveys are not comparable. Always check who was asked and how “use” is defined.
- KPMG found only 36% of Australians are willing to trust AI, and 24% have had AI training.
- For most SMEs the gap is depth and trust, not access.
If you want help choosing a first use case, setting up checks on AI output or building a simple AI policy, talk to us. We will start with your workflow, not the tool.
Sources
- AI adoption insights: December 2025 to February 2026, National AI Centre, 7 May 2026
- How we collect data: AI adoption tracker, National AI Centre, undated
- AI Adoption Tracker, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, published 4 June 2025, updated 23 July 2025
- Business adoption of artificial intelligence accelerates in 2024-25, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 25 June 2026
- AI adoption in Australian SMEs, ScaleSuite, September 2026
- Embracing AI: Adoption & Key Opportunities for SMEs, NAB, April 2026
- AI Edge for small business: increased SMB AI adoption can add $44 billion to Australia’s economy, Deloitte Australia, 25 November 2025
- Trust, attitudes and use of AI: the Australian story, KPMG and Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne, 2025
- Harnessing data and digital technology, interim report, Productivity Commission, 5 August 2025