Most small business owners already use AI, and they use it for everyday chores like writing, ads and answering customers. In a Fiverr survey of 6,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs released in May 2025, 77% said they used generative AI for business, personal needs or both. Generative AI is software that creates text, images or video from a short instruction.
What the data shows
One caution: everyone surveyed was an active Fiverr user, so the results do not describe every small business. Fiverr's June 2026 Business Trends Index adds more recent detail. Searches for AI-related services grew 278% in Video & Animation, 94% in Programming & Tech and 62% in Digital Marketing. Those figures compare November 2025 to April 2026 with the six months before.
How owners are using AI
The list Fiverr points to is practical. It covers work that eats up evenings and weekends.
- Search and content planning: brainstorming search phrases and article ideas, with human research alongside.
- Product descriptions: AI writes a first draft from product details and a description of the buyer.
- Social campaigns: automation picks send times and tailors messages, within a set goal and budget.
- Video ads: searches for AI user-generated-content-style video ads rose 265%, and AI video ads rose 63%.
- Customer chat: bots answer routine questions and hand harder ones to a person.
Where people still matter
Fiverr's own data suggests owners are not handing everything to machines. Searches for human video editing rose 36% in the same period. Fiverr also reported a 61% rise in searches for vibe coding, meaning code written by AI tools. Its report stresses that generating code is not the same as delivering software, and that technical experts still need to oversee the project.
Product copy should be checked against the real product. Search suggestions from AI are a starting point, not a finished plan.
What to watch out for
Images need extra care. Fiverr says AI-generated does not automatically mean royalty-free, exclusive or unrestricted. Royalty-free means you can use it without paying per use. Fiverr requires its freelancers to follow the terms of the AI tools they use and to hold the rights needed to deliver the work.
For customer chat, Fiverr suggests starting small. Give the bot approved answers to common questions, such as opening hours and return rules. Make sure customers always have a clear path to a real person.
The takeawayAI can cut hours from writing and routine customer questions, but a person should check the facts, the image rights and the final result.