The Survey

The SFA Small Business Survey was conducted by Amárach Research on behalf of the Small Firms Association. Telephone and link-based interviews were completed with 404 key decision-makers (owners, founders, CEOs, and managing directors) of Irish small businesses employing between 1 and 50 people. Data collection concluded on May 28, 2026.

From this survey the SFA produced two publications: the SFA Small Business Survey 2026 - highlighting cost of business and other concerns, and the SFA AI Survey - exploring the usage of AI reported by small firms. The results can be seen below.

This is the second year that the SFA has conducted this survey on AI usage within the small business community. 92% of small firms acknowledge that they use generic off-the-shelf generic tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. In contrast, just 30% of companies surveyed using customized AI models tailored specifically to their distinct business needs, but that is up from 22% in 2025.

In 2026, 20% of small businesses surveyed are building or coding standalone in-house software, up from 10% last year.

For the companies that do actively use customised or strategic AI, 65% report an immediate boost in business efficiency, and 45% credit it with improving the speed of service delivery to customers.

Key Findings

Related Documents

Small businesses have seen a 44.4% cumulative increase in costs, on average, in the past three years, according to the Small Firms Association (SFA) Annual Small Business Survey. The survey also found that 77% of businesses have experienced cost increases in the past 12 months, up from 49% in 2025. The depth of the cost crisis is further reflected in the rate of escalation: among the businesses experiencing rising expenses, nearly a quarter (26%) report that their costs have jumped by more than 10% in just 12 months.

Key Findings

Related Documents

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