Committee on Small Business Holds Hearing to Highlight How AI is Shaping the Future of Small Business

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, held a hearing titled “AI on Main Street: How AI is Shaping the Future of Small Business” to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming small business operations, boosting productivity and competitiveness, and expanding economic opportunity. It also examined the challenges small businesses encounter when adopting AI, as well as the programs designed to support the understanding and implementation of these technologies.

"Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable tools available to small business owners," said Chairman Williams. "From streamlining product sourcing to improving inventory management, AI is helping entrepreneurs spend less time on routine tasks and more time growing their businesses and serving their customers. But for many small businesses, the greatest challenge isn't access to AI—it's having the training and knowledge to use it effectively. That's why this Committee and the Small Business Administration are working to expand the resources and educational opportunities Main Street needs to adopt AI with confidence, while ensuring unnecessary red tape doesn't stand in the way of innovation."

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Watch the full hearing here.

Below are some key excerpts from today’s hearing:

Chairman Williams: “Mr. Crenshaw, research shows that nearly three-quarters of small businesses are now using AI, but that headline number surely hides a lot of variation. My question is: how representative is that data across different sectors and regions? And what separates the small businesses that are successfully adopting AI from the ones falling behind?” Mr. Crenshaw: “As we look at the data, 58% of small businesses, according to our survey nationwide, are using generative artificial intelligence. Now, if you look at the higher adopters, that tends to be smaller tech firms; that’s around 70% adoption rates at that point. For entertainment companies that are smaller, it’s 65%, but then when you dig down in the numbers, you still have about half of retailers, restaurants, traditional brick-and-mortar companies who are using generative artificial intelligence to grow and thrive. In fact, I had a chance to talk with the owner of a skin care company in the Coachella Valley, who has used generative AI to cut costs by sourcing products from places with lower tariffs or lower inflation-driven costs, so she doesn’t have to pass those costs on to consumers. And so, it really is a mix of the types of companies using this across all sectors. But at the same time, what we have found is that the companies that are not using generative artificial intelligence - about a third are worried about the regulatory uncertainty that’s out there. About one in five believe they can’t find properly trained workers at this point to actually use generative AI and make it work for them. And then another third are still not sure how it will work for their business. It’s one of the reasons why it’s so critically important that we establish clear national frameworks in the regulatory side like the Secure Data Act on data privacy, create a national AI framework that’s workable, and we also have training programs in place that, like the AI for Main Street Act and AI-WISE Act, that help small businesses really get their head around how to use AI responsibly.”

Rep. Van Duyne: “Mr. Hoang, in your testimony you discussed the importance of both proprietary and open models to small businesses, including the importance of open models due to cost. Can you expand on the current state of the closed and open model ecosystem and how small businesses use both types to operate and build their businesses?” Mr. Hoang: “To be clear, I'm neither pro-open nor anti-open nor pro-closed...I believe in choice. Choice provides competition; it gives consumers the opportunity to use the best models. We obviously are familiar with the closed models that are cutting on the frontier edge. There are also several open models that are very close. They’re driving down the cost to access these capabilities. I built my platform on this idea of choice. You can choose what models you want to use and collaboration, so you can get the best of models working together. I think we need more competition. The sense of more access to both closed and open models, so consumers can let competition do what it does best, which is produce the best products and services for America.”

Rep. Bresnahan: “My question would be, at what point did you decide to take the initiative to start looking at different AI implementations? And something that I hear from a lot of small businesses, and coming from a small business background, was sometimes, you know, the local plumber, heating contractor doesn’t even know where to begin. So, at what point for you in your business did you decide that hey, for us to scale, in order for us to grow, we need to be thinking outside the box and finding ways to implement some sort of AI technology?” Mr. Qaiyum: "Thank you for the question. I came to retail and small business, this industry, through the dot-com rise in the nineties. I’ve always been into technology, and I may be a bit rare in that sense: I view it as part of my role in the business to stay ahead of the technology curve. So, I’ve been following it for at least a few years now, and I’ve been the person testing it out on the weekends and at night to see what it could do, then bringing it to the team and saying, ‘Look at this.’ So, I feel like, for me, I happen to be personally interested in it, but I know that that’s not most of my small business friends, the other business owners on the block. I think we do need support in that sense.”

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