How much cheaper AI must be before owners would switch
24%
24% would retain an employee if AI could do most of the job for less for six to 12 months — the most common answer.
n = 3,022 U.S. small-business owners · Fielded 2026 · Cherry Data Signals
Breakdown
six to 12 months24%
as long as the business could afford it23%
less than six months18%
one to two years18%
indefinitely10%
0%50%100%
Methodology
- Sample
- 3,022
- Population
- U.S. small-business owners
- Country
- United States
- Fielded
- 2026
- Research by
- Cherry Data Signals
- Study
- Why Small Businesses Keep Staff AI Could Replace
Cite this statistic
Cherry Data Signals (2026). "How much cheaper AI must be before owners would switch" Survey of 3,022 U.S. small-business owners, United States. https://cherrysignals.com/statistics/how-much-cheaper-ai-must-be-before-owners-would-switch
Free to reproduce with attribution to Cherry Data Signals and a link to this page.
Related statistics
- AI could already perform a meaningful proportion of at least one employee's work61%
- Why owners keep employees AI could replace33%
- Delayed introducing AI because of its possible impact on employees61%
- Rejected a specific AI tool because it could cause job losses59%
- Most protective of long-serving employees28%
- The employees owners feel most protective of22%
- Employers should protect jobs wherever reasonably possible; 31% favored protection even if profits fell47%
- Business survival should take priority; 7% favored AI adoption whenever financially beneficial15%
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