- 53% of all British SMB owners use AI Tools for Business Advisory-60% of 25-34 year olds
- 31% use Tiktok but this has almost doubled among 18-24 year olds
- Human feeling, experience and ethics are essential
Half (53%) of Britain’s SMB owners now use AI tools, such as Chatgpt and Gemini, for business advice-but this is even more pronounced among younger entrepreneurs, with use rising to about 60% among 25-34 year olds.
Artificial intelligence clearly serves as a brainstorming tool to verify what family and friends say, with 93% still confidence in these people for business advice.
WorldPay, the company behind the research, says that young entrepreneurs are now redefining business advice, but it may not be such a good idea.
Classic Internet search engines also remain a popular tool for 47% of the 1,250 British SME business owners who were being investigated, but social media could soon exceed basic internet searches. YouTube (51%), LinkedIn (41%) and Facebook/Instagram (37%) quickly wins speed, just as Tiktok, which sees a less than 31%share of trust-men 60%among 18-24 year olds.
However, where AI and Social Media Counseling are lacking, there is a limited context in human-sought advice (such as industry-specific notes) and potential bias. Videos sent online can often push certain agendas or schemes that may not act in the young entrepreneurs.
They also run the risk of overcoming unverified sources and exposing themselves to unrealistic expectations described by videos that especially cure what the author wants to show.
“Entrepreneurs today have to rely on both their personal networks and invest in the right tools to help their business thrive,” commented WorldPay GM for SMB International Chris Wood.
Fortunately, 93% are still dependent on human peers for counseling, adding layers of emotional, experience and ethical, which one-size-pass-all videos cannot offer.
In the end, a wider spectrum of information can only be a good thing, but young entrepreneurs must remember not to replace human advice with online, non-personalized sources.
