- 53% of all owners of British SMBs use AI tools for commercial advice – 60% of 25 to 34 year olds
- 31% use Tiktok, but this is almost doubled among 18-24 year olds
- Human emotion, experience and ethics are crucial
Half (53%) of the UMB owners of the United Kingdom now use AI tools, such as Chatgpt and Gemini, for commercial advice – but this is even more pronounced among young entrepreneurs, where use increases to around 60% among 25 to 34 year olds.
Artificial intelligence clearly serves as a brainstorming tool to verify what family and friends say, 93% always trusting people for commercial advice.
Worldpay, the company behind research, says that young entrepreneurs now redefine commercial advice, but it may not be such a good idea.
Classic Internet search engines also remain a popular tool for 47% of the 1,250 owners of British SME companies interviewed, but social media could soon exceed internet research. YouTube (51%), Linkedin (41%) and Facebook / Instagram (37%) quickly gain momentum, as is Tiktok which sees a smaller share of confidence of 31% – but 60%among 18-24 year olds.
However, when advice on AI and social media are not advice sought on humans are in a limited context (such as specific notes to industry) and potential biases. Videos published online can often push certain programs or regimes that may not act in the interest of young entrepreneurs.
They are also likely to rest too much on unconceived sources and to expose themselves to unrealistic expectations defined by videos that only hold what the author wants to show.
“Entrepreneurs must now count on their personal networks and invest in the right tools to help their business prosper,” said Worldpay GM for International SMB Chris Wood.
Fortunately, 93% still counts on human peers to get advice, which adds strata of emotion, experience and ethics that unique videos cannot offer.
In the end, a wider range of information can only be a good thing, but young entrepreneurs must remember not to completely replace human advice with non -personal sources online.
