• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

A/B testing was once used mostly by direct mailers to assess creative and mailing lists. And they sometimes had to be scolded into it. 

But now we are in the 21st century, and even the smallest marketers in all channels are using AI to help them with their A/B testing, according to the State of A/B testing in 2025 from the SMB perspective, a study from Unbounce, conducted by Ascend2. 

Of the SMBs surveyed, 90% have seen an improvement in their A/B testing processes since adopting AI, 39% of them a significant one.  

Despite that, brands face many challenges with A/B testing. The main ones are:

• Lack of resources (time, tools or budget) — 51%
• Limited traffic for statistically significant results — 49% 
• It takes too long to set up, run, analyze — 39% 
• Unclear or inconclusive test results — 33%
• Privacy and data compliance concerns — 32%
• Our testing tools don’t fit our needs — 26%
• Other — 3%

But strategies exist for dealing with these obstacles. 

“To address common A/B testing challenges such as limited traffic and test duration, you may need to rethink your conversion goal,” the study says. “For example, if you want quick results from you’re A/B test or don’t have enough purchase volume, we recommend basing your test on secondary metrics or micro-conversions that influence your primary conversion goal.” 

How good are small brands  at using A/B testing? Of those polled, 42% say they are very successful, 54% somewhat successful and 2% unsuccessful. 

Their main objectives are to: 

• Improve conversion rates — 56%
• Optimize marketing campaigns — 55%
• Enhance user experience — 50% 
• Test product features — 37%
• Test messaging — 28%
• Reduce customer churn — 26%
• Other — 3%

Email and websites are the channels most likely to receive this type of analysis.

• Email marketing—57% 
• Website—57%
• Paid social campaigns—38% 
• Landing pages—32% 
• Mobile/SMS—31% 
• Direct mail or offline campaigns—31%
• Display or programmatic advertising—29%
• SEO—21% 
• Other—2%

And which tools or platforms are they using? They cite:

• Web analytics tools used in combination with manual testing — 53%
• Build-in testing tools within our CMS, email, or ad platforms — 46% 
• Landing page A/B testing tools — 36%
• Dedicated A/B testing platforms — 31%
• Custom-built internal tools — 30%
• We do not currently use A/B testing tools/platforms, but we plan to adopt them — 8%
• We do not currently use any A/B testing tools/platforms, with no plans of adoption — 2%
• Other — 2%

Ascend2 surveyed 261 small business with 500 employees or less in May 2025. All conduct A/B testing as part of their marketing.