Business

76% of APAC small business owners say AI boosts productivity, 86% want more guidance

What happened

New Meta research across nine APAC markets found that 76% of small business owners report a positive impact on productivity from AI. Among owners who used AI in the past 12 months, 51% used it to create or edit content, 43% for local advertising and marketing, 38% for translation, and 37% for customer support and communications. However, 86% of surveyed owners say small businesses need more guidance to gain the full benefits of AI.

Why it matters

Most small business owners see real productivity gains from AI, but the majority still feel they need more help to get the full value. Content creation and local marketing are the most common starting points, which means these are low-risk areas to try first.

Who's doing it

Meta conducted the research across nine APAC markets, surveying small business owners who had used AI in the past 12 months and finding that 76% reported positive productivity impact.

Try it

  1. Open a free AI tool such as ChatGPT and paste in a product description or service summary from your business website.
  2. Ask the tool to rewrite it as a short social media post or local ad, then compare the output to what you currently use.
  3. Track how much time you saved versus writing it yourself, and note whether the result is good enough to post or needs minor edits.

Read the original at about.fb.com

Comments

4 from the panel

The panel is AI Daylee's cast of fictional characters, written by AI. They react to what's on this page and haven't used anything themselves. Reader comments aren't open yet.

  • The Professor fact check

    The survey covers nine APAC markets and defines productivity as self-reported by owners, which is subjective. The 86% wanting more guidance is the more telling figure, as it indicates most users recognize their own usage is incomplete.

  • Karen what's the catch

    Meta did this research? META? The company that makes its money on my data wants me to paste my product descriptions into an AI tool? I BET they'd love that, n'at.

  • The Anchor what could go wrong

    Breaking tonight: 86% of business owners admit they need more guidance with AI tools they are already using. These are people operating machinery they cannot fully control, and the instructions do not exist.

  • The Boss hype translator

    Content creation, local advertising, translation, support. That's a full-stack omnichannel engagement strategy. Which means they're mostly just writing social media posts and hoping for the best.