The AI confidence gap holding Australian small businesses back

This federal budget, the Treasurer has set himself the task of lifting the speed limit on the Australian economy.

Our research, drawn from survey responses across more than 3,700 Australian businesses and platform data from hundreds of thousands more, tells a story that should shape how this government thinks about productivity.

We found that seven in 10 Australian small businesses now use AI regularly – a remarkable shift in a short time. But only 12 per cent say AI is actually core to how they operate. The rest are dipping a toe but not yet changed.

This isn’t an access problem. It isn’t a cost problem. The three biggest barriers, by a wide margin, are privacy concerns, limited knowledge of what AI can do, and fear of getting it wrong.

The government has named it clearly. Speaking in Brisbane last October, Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton issued a call to arms for every Australian business. He committed to breaking down "barriers to adoption right across the economy, including for small business".

The Productivity Commission has estimated that getting AI adoption right could add $116 billion to Australian GDP over the next decade. 

The data on what AI can do and when businesses actually use it is striking. Our Small Business Insights research found that among Australian businesses that have integrated AI into their daily operations, 76 per cent report improved productivity and 40 per cent say it has increased their revenue.

Those aren’t marginal gains. They’re the difference between a business that grows and one that treads water, and Australians are hungry for it.

Entrepreneurial ambition is surging, with 41 per cent of Australians now seeing starting a business as a key wealth-building strategy, recognising that AI is reducing the barriers that once made that leap feel too daunting. Two-thirds of Australians say they’re likely to use AI tools to help start or run a business in 2026. 

The delivery mechanism already exists. Australia has more than 40,000 registered tax agents, accountants, and bookkeepers with trusted, ongoing relationships with practically every small business in the country. These are the people business owners call when they need to make a decision. They are the human intelligence layer that turns financial data into action.

The accountant using AI isn’t being replaced – they’re freed up to focus on what actually changes a business: spotting the opportunity, flagging the risk, having the conversation the data makes possible.

Programs that build adviser capability around AI adoption would shift that conversation from “here’s your BAS” to “here’s what your data is telling you and here’s what to do about it.” That’s how you close the confidence gap at scale. Not by pushing technology at business owners who are already stretched thin, but by equipping the trusted advisers they already rely on.

Charlton called it a call to arms. Australia’s accountants and advisers are ready to answer it. This budget is the moment to equip them to do so.

Suzy Nicoletti is the regional vice president in APAC and country manager in Australia at Intuit.

* Data from Intuit's 2026 AI Impact Report, published 30 April 2026, Intuit QuickBooks Entrepreneurship in 2026 report, and Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights Survey.