Homebase, the leading AI-powered operator for small businesses, released data today showing where America’s 33.2 million small-to-medium-sized businesses, nearly half the U.S. economy, are benefiting from AI’s boom, and where the opportunity is ahead. Based on a survey of 750 small business owners and operators, the 2026 Main Street AI Gap Report explores trends shaping AI uptake, how AI saves time and money, and where adoption gaps are widening.

The data confirms AI’s impact on Main Street is overwhelmingly positive; 89% of small business decision-makers who use it report a positive effect on their business. But a growing divide is emerging by size and revenue. Eighty-one percent of businesses with $5 million or more in revenue use AI, compared with just 54% of those under $500,000. The pattern holds by employee count, too, with adoption ranging from 57% at businesses with 5 to 9 employees to 84% at those with 50 to 99. Businesses that already apply AI for scheduling and payroll together save, on average, more than $4,100 a year, proof of what’s at stake and why more accessible, intuitive AI built for Main Street is needed now.

“When local businesses have a scheduling mix-up or a payroll error, their time and money go out the door. Both are real costs to small businesses,” said John Waldmann, Founder & CEO of Homebase. “Over one in ten small business decision-makers we surveyed said these errors cost them $2,000 or more a month. While we’re still early, AI is already giving operators time and money back to focus on scaling their business, investing in their teams, and building the community that keeps customers coming back to Main Street.”

Key findings from the 2026 Main Street AI Gap Report include:

  • Adoption is up, and it’s translating into tangible time and dollars saved. AI adoption among small business owners jumped from 64% in 2025 to 74% in 2026, a 10-point jump in a single year. Eighty-nine percent of adopters reported positive business impacts, and 87% said it saved them time. Owners using AI for both scheduling and payroll save an average of 7.7 hours and $343 a month, or more than $4,100 a year.
  • The generational AI divide doesn’t exist on Main Street. Across small business decision-makers aged 18 to 59, adoption is relatively flat, ranging from 70-80%. This undercuts the idea that younger, more tech-forward operators are driving AI uptake. On Main Street, it’s company size and revenue, not age, that shape how businesses adopt AI.
  • Trust, not technology, remains the biggest barrier to adoption. Sixty-two percent of non-adopters say they’re still interested in AI, citing data privacy (38%) and mistakes (31%) as the top concerns. Nearly two in three non-adopters want to make the leap, but trust is holding them back.
  • Instead of cutting jobs, owners use AI to grow their business. Small business decision-makers are more than twice as likely to expect AI to help their business grow (49%) as to reduce the number of employees they need (22%). For an already-lean Main Street America, the proper tools and support mean staying open later, taking on more customers, and adding new locations.

Homebase’s 2026 Main Street AI Gap Report is publicly available at https://www.joinhomebase.com/blog/small-business-ai-gap-report. For additional insights, Homebase provides a monthly breakdown of small business trends in the U.S. in the Main Street Health Report, which analyzes how factors like weather, the economy, tourism, and seasonality impact owners and managers across America.

About Homebase

Our mission is to make small business teams unstoppable.

Homebase is the leading AI-powered operating partner for hourly teams, with employee scheduling, time clocks, payroll, hiring, communication, HR, and more. More than 150,000 small businesses rely on Homebase to make work radically easy and give their teams superpowers. Since launching in 2025, Homebase’s AI-powered products have handled more than 3.6 million administrative tasks for small businesses across Main Street. Homebase was named a 2024 Fast Company’s Brands That Matter, a 2025 Webby Award winner, and a 2025 Fast Company’s Most Innovative Workplaces North America winner.

Homebase is based in San Francisco, Houston, Denver, and Toronto, and is backed by leading venture investors L Catterton Growth, Emerson Collective, Notable Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Baseline Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Bedrock Capital, and PLUS Capital.

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