• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 30, 2025

AI is being hyped as the magic tool to give small and medium-sized businesses a lift when it comes to competing with others -- but a recent study of 750 SMBs suggests otherwise.

Could it come down to semantics and the ability to learn and apply something new?

In fact, 43% of SMBs believe AI will have no impact on their industries at all, according to data released Friday.

The study was conducted by Localogy, a not-for-profit association of companies engaged in local and location-based marketing, and Duda, a website builder for agencies and professionals supporting small businesses.

Survey results found 23% of SMBS had negative feelings toward AI in terms of whether it helps market or manage their business.

Only 29% viewed AI technology as positive. Of those who rated it as negative, 46% said they believe AI is overhyped and are doubtful it can achieve effective results.

When replacing the acronym "AI" with the word "automation," sentiment from SMBs shifted more toward the positive -- from 50% believing they would not use AI tools for their business to 30%.

That may be because among the SMBs surveyed, 86% believe automation tools are valuable to their business vs. 62% who see AI tools as important.

While 60% of SMBs acknowledge that AI offers time and cost savings and improves operational effectiveness, many remain hesitant due to concerns about its accuracy, overhype and reliability.

Some 70% of SMBs feel it is important that agencies integrate AI into their services and provide support to SMBs in the form of training, new services, and acting as a consultant to identify opportunities.

AI also is changing processes like search strategies, whereas automation does not.

At smaller companies, AI should make specialized SEO knowledge more valuable, but success requires cross-functional collaboration, and the 32% still in observing how to optimize organic search strategies are running out of time to adapt, according to BrightEdge.

The term SEO has morphed in generative engine optimization (GEO) as AI takes control of search strategies. 

BrightEdge is an enterprise-level SEO platform designed to help businesses enhance their organic search performance.

More than 750 marketers from small to large companies are navigating AI disruption in search optimization, with 68% saying they have to actively change their strategies in response to AI-driven search, BrightEdge found.

It takes a lot of work to realign processes, especially for SMBs. Some 54% of companies are turning to their search engine optimization (SEO) teams to lead AI search initiatives, with more than all other departments combined.

One positive is that only 5% of marketers report extreme outcomes -- either incredible success or complete failure with using Google AI Overviews -- which suggests the technology is creating subtle shifts rather than dramatic disruptions for most organizations.