77% of Small Businesses Already Use AI, Fiverr Survey Finds

77% of small business owners already use generative AI for business, personal needs or both. That figure comes from a Fiverr survey of 6,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs, released in May 2025. All respondents were active Fiverr users.

The work behind those numbers is unglamorous. After closing up shop, owners still write tomorrow's social media posts and answer pending customer questions. Hiring a full marketing or technology team is often out of reach. Leaving the work unfinished is not an option either. AI fills the gap.

Fiverr's June 2026 Business Trends Index shows where demand for AI expertise is accelerating. The figures compare November 2025 to April 2026 with the preceding six months.

• Searches for AI-related services grew 278% in Video & Animation.
• They rose 94% in Programming & Tech and 62% in Digital Marketing.
• Searches for Claude Code specialists jumped 938%.

Here are the top 10 ways small businesses use AI right now, according to Fiverr data.

How do small businesses actually use AI?

1. AI-assisted writing. Owners use generative tools to outline newsletters and draft website copy. They then layer on AI editing services to keep language consistent with their brand. Fiverr's May 2025 index found searches for freelancers who could "humanize AI content" rose 641% over the preceding six months. The best route, per Fiverr, is an AI-written first draft combined with human judgment and content editing.

2. SEO keyword research. Businesses need to know what potential customers search for before they can attract traffic. AI brainstorms search phrases and identifies questions worth answering. Fiverr's SEO guidance describes combining AI tools with research and human expertise rather than relying on generated suggestions alone. A plausible keyword is only a starting point.

3. SEO content strategies. Content strategy covers decisions about what to publish online. AI analyzes existing materials and suggests article ideas. It can also optimize content and flag topics a business has not covered thoroughly. For a small business, that means a collection of useful, cohesive articles instead of disconnected blog posts.

4. Product descriptions. Writing descriptions from scratch eats time for online sellers posting dozens of items at once. Fiverr notes AI can draft descriptions and improve sales copy by tailoring language to a brand's voice. The tool processes product specifications and an explanation of the intended customer, then produces a first draft. Human employees verify the copy matches the product.

5. Code generation. AI coding has advanced fast. Fiverr's June 2026 index reported a 61% rise for "vibe coding" — coding completed by AI tools — compared with the preceding six months. That interest covers prototyping and improving existing applications. Fiverr's report stresses a difference between generating code and delivering software: development still requires humans with technical expertise to oversee the project.

6. App development. Fiverr offers services for businesses that want their own ChatGPT-powered products and AI mobile or web apps. One use case is an internal AI assistant that helps employees sort through company documentation. Another is a customer-facing AI app that answers questions.

7. AI-powered social media campaigns. These campaigns use automation to personalize social media messages. Fiverr's marketing automation guide cites applications like selecting send times and refining performance across channels. Each campaign starts with a business objective, a defined audience and clear spending limits.

8. Creating social media content. Campaigns need materials: captions, images and videos. Fiverr's June 2026 index shows strong growth around AI video. Searches for AI user-generated-content-style video ads rose 265%. AI video ads increased 63%. Searches for human video editing also rose 36%, suggesting businesses seek production help alongside generated material.

9. Royalty-free image generation. Small businesses use AI tools to create custom illustrations and blog visuals. But "AI-generated" does not automatically mean "royalty-free," exclusive or unrestricted. Fiverr requires freelancers to respect third-party tools' terms and hold the necessary rights to deliver work.

10. Chatbots and automated customer service. Owners face the same questions daily: When are you open? How do returns work? Where can customers find product information? Automated service provides on-demand answers and transfers unresolved questions to a human representative. Fiverr advises starting with approved answers and a clear path to human help.

What does the pattern show?

The data points one direction. Small firms adopt AI where labor costs bite hardest: drafting, editing, video production and customer support. Yet nearly every category pairs the machine with a human — editors who "humanize" drafts, developers who oversee vibe coding, video editors whose demand rose 36% even as AI video searches surged. Fiverr's own guidance treats generated output as a first draft, never a finished product. As search growth compounds — 938% for Claude Code specialists in six months — the dividing line between AI work and human oversight is becoming the operating model for small business.