# AI Adoption Among Australian SMEs: The 2026 Numbers Explained

URL: https://ecomchannels.com/insights/ai-adoption-australian-small-businesses/
Category: AI in retail
Updated: 2026-10-30

> How many Australian small businesses use AI in 2026, what they use it for, what holds them back, and practical next steps for online retailers and sellers.

AI use among Australian small and medium businesses is growing but still uneven. The ABS found 12% of all Australian businesses used AI in 2024-25, up from about 1% in its previous survey, while the National AI Centre's monthly tracker puts SME adoption, measured more broadly, at around 43-44% in early 2026. For online retailers the gap is an opportunity: the most common uses (content and data analysis) map directly onto listing, image and reporting work.

## Two surveys, two different numbers

If you search for "AI adoption Australia", you will see figures ranging from roughly one in ten businesses to nearly half. Both can be right because they measure different things.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' Business Characteristics Survey asked nearly 7,000 businesses whether they used AI. It found [around 12% of Australian businesses reported using AI in 2024-25](https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/business-adoption-artificial-intelligence-accelerates-2024-25). Size mattered: about 35% of large businesses and 22% of medium businesses used AI, compared with around 11% of small and micro businesses.

The National AI Centre's AI adoption tracker, run with Fifth Quadrant, surveys at least 400 SME owners and decision-makers every month and counts any level of adoption. Its latest quarterly overview reports that [43% of SMEs reported some level of AI adoption](https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/ai-adoption-insights-december-2025-february-2026) across December 2025 to February 2026, with February reaching 44%.

The honest reading: a large minority of small businesses have tried AI, but a much smaller share use it as a regular part of how the business runs.

## Retail is among the earlier adopters

When the tracker was updated in mid-2025, the Industry Minister's release noted that [services and retail businesses were the highest adopters](https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/t-ayres/media/australian-ai-adoption-tracker-report-shows-business-harnessing-ai), with SME adoption at 41% at that point. The same release reported that 22% of businesses saw faster decision-making and 18% reported better productivity.

That fits what retail work looks like. Online sellers produce a lot of text (titles, descriptions, ads, customer replies), handle a lot of images and generate a lot of transactional data. These are the tasks current AI tools handle best.

## What SMEs actually use AI for

Among businesses using or planning to use AI, [content generation and data analytics lead, at 54% each](https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/ai-adoption-insights-december-2025-february-2026), followed by cybersecurity and threat detection at 48%. The National AI Centre describes these as productivity-focused, relatively low-risk starting points. More complex uses such as agentic AI and supply chain optimisation remain largely untapped.

The tracker also shows a maturing pattern. Broad adoption, where AI is used across several parts of the business, reached its highest level in seven months, while limited one-off use declined. Businesses that start tend to expand.

The ABS data points the same way. Among small businesses that were actively innovating, [AI adoption was 19%, almost five times the rate](https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/business-adoption-artificial-intelligence-accelerates-2024-25) of small businesses that were not innovating.

## What holds businesses back

The National AI Centre identifies three barriers among SMEs that have not adopted AI:

- **Trust.** Around 65% of non-adopters cited distrust of AI decision-making or a strong preference to keep human control.
- **Relevance.** 54% said AI is not relevant to their business, which the Centre attributes to a lack of relatable examples rather than outright rejection.
- **Knowing where to start.** 19% said they simply do not know how to use AI in their business.

Skills are part of the picture. The ABS found [35% of businesses reported a skills shortage](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology-and-innovation/characteristics-australian-business/2024-25) in 2024-25, and NAB research highlighted by the National AI Centre rated [SME workforce readiness for AI at just 3.8 out of 10](https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/building-ai-capability-through-collaboration), even though one in five SMEs using AI reported transformational improvements.

The trust barrier is worth taking seriously, and it has a practical answer: choose tools where people stay in control. The tracker found the most common safeguard among AI users is checking outputs before they affect customers, used by about half of current users. For a retailer, that means AI drafts and a person approves.

## A practical path for online retailers

If you sell across marketplaces and your own store, these steps keep risk low and value visible:

1. **Start with content you already produce.** Listing titles, bullet points and image sets are high-volume, rules-based and easy to check.
2. **Keep a human approval step.** It addresses the trust concern and catches errors before they reach shoppers.
3. **Use AI on your data, not just your words.** Matching settlements to orders and spotting fee anomalies is data analytics, the other top use case.
4. **Measure a baseline.** Record hours per week on listings, reconciliation and order handling before you start, then compare.
5. **Expand once one workflow is stable.** The tracker suggests adopters who see value go broader; plan for that.

For the business case, see [the ROI of AI in retail](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/roi-of-ai-in-retail-what-studies-show/), and for team skills, [building an AI-ready retail team](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/building-ai-ready-retail-team/).

## Key figures

- About 12% of Australian businesses used AI in 2024-25, up from about 1% in the previous survey ([ABS, 2026](https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/business-adoption-artificial-intelligence-accelerates-2024-25)).
- 35% of large businesses, 22% of medium and around 11% of small and micro businesses used AI ([ABS, 2026](https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/business-adoption-artificial-intelligence-accelerates-2024-25)).
- 43% of SMEs reported some level of AI adoption across December 2025 to February 2026 ([National AI Centre, 2026](https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/ai-adoption-insights-december-2025-february-2026)).
- Content generation and data analytics are each used by 54% of SME adopters ([National AI Centre, 2026](https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/ai-adoption-insights-december-2025-february-2026)).
- 65% of non-adopting SMEs cite distrust of AI decisions or a preference for human control ([National AI Centre, 2026](https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/ai-adoption-insights-december-2025-february-2026)).

## How eComChannels helps

eComChannels is built for the use cases Australian SMEs already trust most, with a person approving every output. [AI listing optimisation](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-listing-optimisation/) is trained on each marketplace's listing rules and drafts titles, bullets and attributes from one master product record; you review and publish in bulk, which lifts listing quality and search visibility without hiring more copywriters. [AI graphics](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-graphics/) creates image sets that meet each marketplace's image rules, so you approve once and publish everywhere instead of resizing by hand.

On the data side, [finance auto reconciliation](https://ecomchannels.com/products/finance-reconciliation/) matches marketplace remittances and settlements to orders, applies fee rules and flags short-paid or missing payments, turning hours of spreadsheet work into an exceptions list. To see it with your own products and channels, [book a demo or start a 30-day free trial](https://ecomchannels.com/book-a-demo/).

## FAQ

### Why do the ABS and the AI adoption tracker give such different numbers?

They ask different questions of different samples. The ABS surveys all employing businesses about AI use, while the National AI Centre tracker surveys SMEs monthly and counts any level of adoption, including early or limited use.

### Is AI only worthwhile for larger retailers?

Larger businesses adopt AI at higher rates, but the most common uses, such as content and data analysis, suit small sellers well because they cut repetitive work rather than requiring a data science team.

### How do I address staff concerns about AI?

Be clear about which tasks AI drafts and which decisions people keep. Keeping a review step before anything reaches customers matches the most common safeguard Australian SMEs already use.

## Sources
- Business adoption of Artificial Intelligence accelerates in 2024–25, Australian Bureau of Statistics (2026): https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/business-adoption-artificial-intelligence-accelerates-2024-25
- Characteristics of Australian Business, 2024-25 financial year, Australian Bureau of Statistics (2026): https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology-and-innovation/characteristics-australian-business/2024-25
- AI adoption insights: December 2025 to February 2026, National AI Centre (Department of Industry, Science and Resources) (2026): https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/ai-adoption-insights-december-2025-february-2026
- Australian AI Adoption Tracker report shows business harnessing AI, Minister for Industry and Innovation (2025): https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/t-ayres/media/australian-ai-adoption-tracker-report-shows-business-harnessing-ai
- Building AI capability through collaboration, National AI Centre (2026): https://www.ai.gov.au/news-and-insights/blog/building-ai-capability-through-collaboration