New report shows the widespread use of AI among smaller firms
Nearly a quarter of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand are using artificial intelligence tools for the human resources function, according to a new report, as AI adoption among these organisations expands.
MYOB's 2026 Business Monitor revealed that 36% of local SMEs are already using AI in their business, rising from 32% in 2025, the New Zealand Herald reported.
One of the functions of AI in 23% of SMEs is HR and recruitment support, the report revealed. For other firms, uses of AI include content-driven tasks, including:
- Social media and marketing content (38%)
- Copywriting of marketing materials and press releases (28%)
- Copywriting of technical documents, reports, or training materials (26%)
- Market, trend, and risk analysis (25%)
The findings come on the back of government encouragement for SMEs to adopt AI tools in the workplace, after findings in 2024 showed that 68% of SMEs have no plans to evaluate or invest in AI technology.
Uneven AI adoption among SMEs
Despite the growing adoption, the MYOB report pointed out that AI use is still uneven among SMEs.
Businesses with one to five employees have an AI adoption rate of 30%, significantly lower than 64% for businesses with 20 or more employees, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Sole operators, however, demonstrated a stronger AI adoption rate than small businesses with at 36%.
"Sole operators, in particular, recognise the potential AI offers to help them do more with less, and they're actively investing in AI solutions to help them achieve just that," Dean Chadwick, MYOB's chief customer officer, told the New Zealand Herald.
Sole operators are also more likely to use AI to do the "heavy lifting" to allow business owners to focus on the bigger picture, according to Chadwick.
Smaller businesses, on the other hand, use AI to get through day-to-day tasks faster, while medium-sized firms integrate AI across the wider business and build it into the broader people, risk, and operational workflows.
AI use is already so entrenched among medium-sized businesses that 92% said they would immediately feel workload, productivity, or cost impacts if they stopped using it.
Another 64% of sole operators also admitted to this outcome, according to the findings.
For small businesses, however, just 49% said they would immediately feel the consequences if they stopped using AI at work.
Chadwick said this shows that AI use for small businesses is still about "saving time and easing admin pressure."
"For medium-sized businesses – and to some extent, sole operators – AI is becoming a bigger part of how the business runs, and that's where the gains in productivity and margin resilience start to become more visible," he said as quoted by the Herald.
