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A YouGov survey commissioned by Meta found that 76% of 3,983 small-business owners across nine Asia-Pacific markets said AI had positively affected productivity in the past 12 months. The online survey also found 86% believe small businesses need more guidance to get the full benefits, with training cost the most commonly cited barrier.
Three-quarters of surveyed small-business owners across nine Asia-Pacific markets said AI had a positive effect on productivity over the past 12 months, according to a YouGov study commissioned by Meta and released in October 2026. The survey also found that 86% said small businesses need more guidance to gain the full benefits of AI, pointing to a gap between adoption and confidence about how to use the technology.
The online study surveyed 3,983 small-business owners in Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. Meta reported that 84% currently use AI; 76% said it had positively affected productivity and 71% said it had positively affected revenue or sales in the previous 12 months. Those figures are respondents’ reported experiences, not an independent measurement of business performance or proof that AI caused the changes.
Among owners whose businesses had used AI in the past year, 51% used it to create or edit content, 43% for local advertising and marketing, 38% for translation, and 37% for customer support and communications. Among respondents who reported a positive productivity effect, 58% said they used saved time to improve existing work, 50% for growth and business planning, and 46% to get more done with their existing team.
Owners also described AI as a way to compete: 80% agreed it helps small businesses compete with larger companies, while the same share said it makes starting a business easier. Some 83% agreed AI lets small businesses do things that previously required significantly more money or resources. These are survey responses about owners’ views, rather than independently verified outcomes.
Adoption Outpaces Practical Support
The findings suggest that AI is already part of many surveyed small businesses’ operations, but owners see practical barriers to making fuller use of it. More than four in five respondents said small businesses need additional guidance. That matters for firms with limited staff and budgets: the survey respondents described using AI for routine tasks such as marketing, translation and customer communications, as well as for planning and improving work.
Training cost was the leading reported barrier: 51% of owners cited it when asked about challenges to training. Respondents also wanted clearer information about costs and returns, and advice on data privacy and security. The results make a case for accessible, practical support, but they do not establish that training or any particular AI tool will produce a specific financial return.
The survey was commissioned by Meta, which sells business and advertising tools and promotes AI-enabled products. That commercial connection is relevant when interpreting the study and the company’s recommendations. The results describe what surveyed owners said; they should not be treated as proof that Meta’s products caused the reported productivity or sales effects.
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Nine Markets, One Online Survey
YouGov conducted the survey online for Meta, collecting responses from August 6 to September 2, 2026. The study covered nine markets: Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. Quotas were used in each market to include businesses with 1–9, 10–19 and 20–49 employees.
The survey authors say the results offer insight into a diverse cross-section of small businesses in each market, not a nationally representative sample of all small businesses. Meta also cautioned that reported adoption and impact differed between markets; some variation could reflect how respondents understood questions, translation and local survey-response norms. The figures should therefore be read as findings from the surveyed owners, not as a direct estimate for every small business in the region.
Meta said the research follows its launch earlier in 2026 of the Small Business Growth Academy across Asia-Pacific. The company describes the programme as practical training delivered with governments, chambers of commerce and local partners, covering AI-enabled advertising, Reels, WhatsApp for Business and cross-border commerce. Meta also pointed to its own business products, including Advantage+, ads that click to WhatsApp and Meta Business Agent.
““Small businesses have adopted AI – what they’re asking for now is help using it well.””
— Meta, describing the survey findings
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Limits of the Survey Evidence
The survey records owners’ reported use and perceptions; the published findings do not show whether AI independently caused productivity, revenue or sales changes. The material provided does not detail how the reported effects were verified, or provide a comparison group of businesses not using AI. It also does not give market-by-market percentages for the headline findings.
The study’s online design and sampling limits mean its results are not nationally representative of small-business owners in the nine markets. Meta notes that translation and local response norms may affect cross-market differences. It is also unclear from the published summary how owners defined AI, productivity or a positive effect, and whether results vary by industry or by specific tools.
Meta shared a Zayya case study in which Khotimah said a campaign produced 50 enquiries, reduced response times from 30–60 minutes to under two minutes, and returned more than eight times its ad spend. Those figures are reported by the business through Meta; the source material does not provide independent verification, and the case should not be taken as a typical result.
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Training and Follow-Up Evidence
Meta says it will continue working with governments, industry associations and entrepreneurs across Asia-Pacific, and points to its Growth Academy as one source of practical training. The company’s report calls for free training, clearer information on costs and returns, and policies that support access to AI and digital skills. The source material does not set out a new timetable or specific target for those actions.
Further evidence would help clarify whether reported gains translate into measurable business outcomes. Useful follow-up would include transparent results by market and business type, details on the tools used, and research that compares outcomes over time or against suitable comparison groups. For now, the survey offers a snapshot of what owners said in August and September 2026, alongside a clear request for more support using AI.
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Key Questions
What did the survey find about AI and productivity?
76% of surveyed owners said AI had a positive effect on productivity over the previous 12 months. This is a self-reported survey result, not a measured causal effect.
How many owners said their businesses use AI?
Meta reported that 84% of respondents currently use AI. The survey covered 3,983 small-business owners in nine Asia-Pacific markets.
What AI tasks were most common?
Among owners whose businesses used AI in the past year, 51% used it for content creation or editing, 43% for local advertising and marketing, 38% for translation, and 37% for customer support and communications.
What support did owners say they need?
86% said small businesses need more guidance to gain the full benefits of AI. Training cost was cited by 51% as a barrier, and respondents also wanted clearer information on cost, return on investment, privacy and security.
Can the findings represent all small businesses in the region?
No. The survey authors say the findings describe a diverse cross-section in each market but are not nationally representative. They also caution that translation and local response norms may affect comparisons.
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