Despite AI’s growing popularity, a recent global survey of small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) has revealed that while some SMEs in Australia and New Zealand are starting to use it, half haven’t incorporated AI into their operations yet.
The survey, conducted by Peninsula Group in August 2024 across five countries – Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and the UK – has found that security risks are the number one concern around AI for approximately a quarter of respondents in ANZ (24% in Australia and 26% in New Zealand).
“While AI offers immense potential to boost productivity and streamline processes, concerns about its risks are growing, especially in the wake of high-profile cyber breaches. Given Australia’s vulnerability, it’s no surprise that small businesses are wary of sharing data with third parties, which is a prerequisite for most AI tools,” says David Price, CEO at Peninsula ANZ and BrightHR ANZ.
Almost half of employers (47%) surveyed around the globe cite security risk as their biggest concern about AI in the workplace, up from 30% this time last year.
The concerns around reputational impact (+183%), risk of breaking the law (+183%), loss of intellectual property (+178%), and impact on work quality and productivity (+158%) has seen a significant year-on-year increase from last year.
While the 484 Australian and New Zealand participants in the 2024 survey expressed their concerns about security risks, they were still the most likely to use AI regularly compared to SMEs in Canada, Ireland, and the UK.
The risk of losing intellectual property and an increased margin of error tied in second place are key worries for Australian respondents. However, in New Zealand, it was work quality and/or productivity. Australian employers are twice as concerned about loss of intellectual property than Irish and UK employers, and three times more worried than Canadian employers.
“It’s clear that while small businesses are slowly dipping their feet in the water when it comes to adopting AI, their concerns around the risks it carries are stopping them from diving straight in and widely implementing new technologies,” says Price.
The use of AI remains low across small and medium businesses around the world. Despite a 50% year on year increase, only 1 in 10 SMEs say they are regularly using AI in their workplace.
According to the survey, the most popular use of AI for small businesses in both Australia and New Zealand was for administrative tasks, at 18% and 19%, respectively. Specific uses include creating meeting agendas, summarising documents or resources, and drafting emails or communications.
In what will be a sigh of relief for many employees, approximately half of the survey’s ANZ participants (47% in Australia and 53% in New Zealand) shared their assurances that people are irreplaceable in their business. However, almost a quarter of respondents (22% in both Australia and New Zealand) in the region believe AI will replace jobs at their company at some point.
“As the cost of doing business rises in 2024, employers are understandably assessing where they can decrease overheads, speed up processes, boost productivity, and ultimately, boost profits. So, it’s no surprise to see SME business owners and employers voice the prediction that some positions will become redundant as AI is increasingly adopted,” said Price.
AI is perceived as having the potential to positively transform workplaces for roughly a third of ANZ respondents (32% in Australia and 33% in New Zealand). New Zealand participants were more likely to say AI was useful, but that it won’t overtake traditional ways of working, at 29%. This belief was lower in Australia, at 21%.
“Whilst small businesses aren’t completely opposed to using AI, they’re seeking clarity and assurance when it comes to security, productivity, and quality of output. These are concerns that AI developers will need to address if they hope to increase its uptake in the global SME community.”
