Two-thirds of Aussie SMBs use AI. Only 5% are any good at it

Posted: 9 June 2026 · Category: Business, CRM & Sales AI

What changed

Deloitte Access Economics has put a number on something most of us already sensed: Australian small businesses have AI, but almost none of them are using it well.

The report, The AI Edge for Small Business, was released on 25 November 2025 and commissioned by Amazon. Deloitte surveyed more than 1,000 Australian SMBs and scored each against a purpose-built AI Maturity Index. The headline finding is a gap, not a milestone.

Two-thirds of surveyed SMBs use AI in some form. But just 5% are "fully enabled" — meaning AI is built into how the business actually runs, not bolted on for the odd email draft or social caption.

That gap matters because of what sits inside it. Deloitte found that an SMB moving from basic to intermediate AI use could expect a 45% lift in profitability. Move again, from intermediate to fully enabled, and the modelled lift reaches 111%. These are big numbers, and they are modelled estimates rather than guaranteed outcomes — but the direction is clear and the sample is sizeable.

Scale it up and the figure gets political. Deloitte estimates that if just one in ten SMBs currently at the basic or intermediate stage climbed a single rung, it would add about $44 billion a year to Australia's GDP.

To get there, the report recommends a time-limited measure: a 50% tax deduction for AI investment by businesses with annual turnover below $50 million. Deloitte frames it as a roughly $1 billion government boost that could unlock around $2 billion in SMB spending on AI tools, training and systems.

What it means for Australians

This is the rare AI report written about our exact reader. Not the big-bank machine-learning team. The accountant in Launceston, the marketing agency in Brunswick, the trades business doing its own quotes.

The useful insight is not "use AI" — most of you already do. It is that there is a difference between touching AI and building it in, and the difference is worth real money.

Most SMBs sit in the basic tier: someone on the team uses ChatGPT now and then, and that is the extent of it. Useful, but it is a personal habit, not a business capability. The 45% and 111% figures attach to the harder, less glamorous work — putting AI into the parts of the business that recur every day. Quoting. Customer enquiries. The sales pipeline. The bookkeeping. The places where a small, repeated time saving compounds.

A few caveats worth keeping in view. The report was commissioned by Amazon, which sells AI infrastructure, so the framing leans optimistic. The profitability figures are economic modelling, not audited results from real businesses. And the proposed tax deduction is a recommendation to government — not policy. As of today, no such deduction exists. Treat it as a lobbying position, not a tax-planning fact.

Still, the core message survives the caveats. The competitive gap among Australian small businesses is no longer about whether you use AI. It is about whether you have moved past dabbling.

Does it change our recommendation

It sharpens it. We have spent the past month reviewing the tools that take AI out of the novelty drawer and into the daily run of a business — the ones that touch the parts Deloitte says actually move profit.

If you are in the "use ChatGPT occasionally" tier and want the next rung, start where the work repeats. For sales and customer pipelines, our best AI sales and CRM tools roundup is the place to begin; the HubSpot Breeze and Salesforce Einstein reviews cover the two systems most Australian SMBs will weigh up. For the books, our best AI accounting and tax tools roundup does the same job.

Our position is unchanged: pick the tool that fits how your business already works, check the AUD pricing and GST treatment before you commit, and confirm where your data is stored. The Deloitte report is a good reason to act on that sooner. It is not a reason to buy the first thing a vendor — or a vendor-commissioned report — points you at.

The opportunity is real. So is the homework.

Frequently asked questions

What did the Deloitte report find?

Two-thirds of surveyed Australian SMBs use AI in some form, but just 5% are "fully enabled" — meaning AI is built into how the business runs, not bolted on for the odd email or caption. The headline is a gap, not a milestone.

How much is the gap worth?

Deloitte modelled a 45% profitability lift moving from basic to intermediate AI use, and 111% from intermediate to fully enabled. These are modelled estimates, not guaranteed outcomes — but the sample of 1,000+ SMBs is sizeable.

Is the proposed AI tax deduction real?

No. The recommended 50% tax deduction for AI investment by businesses under $50 million turnover is a recommendation to government, not policy. As of now, no such deduction exists — treat it as a lobbying position, not a tax-planning fact.

Should I trust the figures?

With caveats. The report was commissioned by Amazon, which sells AI infrastructure, so the framing leans optimistic, and the profitability numbers are economic modelling rather than audited results. The core message — move past dabbling — survives the caveats.

Sources

• Deloitte Australia — press release, "The AI edge for small business: Increased SMB AI adoption can add $44 billion to Australia's economy," 25 November 2025: https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/about/press-room/ai-edge-small-business-increased-smb-ai-adoption-can-add-44-billion-australias-economy-251125.html (checked 9 June 2026)
• Deloitte Australia — report landing page, "The AI Edge for SMBs": https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/economics/perspectives/artificial-intelligence-small-medium-businesses.html (checked 9 June 2026)

The AI Directory Australia is independent. We review and score AI tools for Australian users — AUD pricing, AU availability, data residency, GST. We don't write ads; affiliate links are disclosed and sponsored content is labelled. Edited by Adam.