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Second-wave findings from Zensurance’s 2026 survey show three-in-five small business owners remain outside the AI conversation
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TORONTO, Sept. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — While artificial intelligence dominates the headlines and boardroom discussions, most Canadian small business owners say it has not meaningfully changed the way they operate. New findings from the 2026 Zensurance Small Business Confidence Index show that the frontier technology remains largely in the background for the majority of small businesses.
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The results come from Zensurance’s national survey of 1,000 Canadian small business owners, entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals, examining how businesses are responding to the rapid rise of AI. Earlier index findings showed a decline in small business confidence for three consecutive years, with just under half of owners (49 per cent) saying they remain confident about the months ahead.
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Most Businesses Still Watching from the AI Sidelines
For many Canadian small businesses, the AI conversation taking place across industries has yet to translate into meaningful business value. Owners are still determining where, and whether, AI fits into their operations.
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Nearly one-third of respondents (32 per cent) say AI has had little to no impact on their business, and another 27 per cent say they are not sure how it even applies to what they do.
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Among those who have felt an impact, results are mixed. Only one-in-four report a positive effect, and just nine per cent credit AI with meaningful productivity gains or cost savings. Meanwhile, seven per cent say it has hurt their revenue or client base.
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Worries About AI
Among those who have concerns about AI, their top worry is competitive pressure: 13 per cent say AI will make their products or services less competitive, 10 per cent say AI tools are not reliable or accurate enough to trust, and nine per cent worry about job displacement and the loss of human labor.
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Owners Continue to Focus on the Fundamentals
Owners remain focused on practical priorities. More plan to introduce new products or services (26 per cent), expand into new markets (22 per cent), or invest in new tools or equipment (20 per cent) than learn about or invest in AI (15 per cent ). When given a hypothetical $10,000 business grant, the response was telling: 26 per cent would set it aside for cash flow, 20 per cent would pay down debt, 17 per cent would invest in tools or equipment and just seven percent said they would put it toward AI.
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The findings suggest that Canadian small business owners are not turning away from innovation – they are balancing new opportunities with the immediate realities of running a business. For many entrepreneurs, the fundamentals come first.