Australian businesses are rapidly moving beyond casual experimentation with artificial intelligence, with new research suggesting AI is now a core productivity engine rather than a novelty tool.
A survey of 200 business owners and decision-makers by comparison platform Small Business Loans Australia (SBLA) found 80% of businesses are using AI in some form, from standalone platforms like ChatGPT and Claude to embedded tools such as Microsoft Copilot and AI chatbots within existing software.
Crucially, a large slice of those adopters report real-time savings. Among businesses using AI, 41% estimate it is now saving at least 25% of total labour time, and 17.5% believe AI is cutting more than half of their human hours. A further 29% say it trims 11–25% of labour, underlining how quickly AI has shifted into a day-to-day operational role.
The shift comes as the business landscape sends mixed signals: Equifax reports a modest credit rebound, yet AFSA data show business‑related personal insolvencies have jumped sharply over the past year and continued a multi‑year uptrend.
The study suggests an emerging “AI productivity gap” between states. Western Australia leads the pack, with 91% of businesses reporting some AI use, compared with 74–83% in other major states. NSW and WA also stand out for deeper time savings, with 39% of businesses in each state saying AI now removes more than a quarter of their workload.
Much of that efficiency is coming from automating routine tasks. The SBLA report finds the biggest current use cases are administration and workflow, along with writing and communication – the kinds of repetitive, document-heavy activities that lend themselves to automation.
SBLA also asked where a more advanced or “perfected” AI capability could move the profit dial the most across five business functions: writing and communication, administration and workflow, sales and customer service, decision-making and analytics, and creative work.
Businesses are most bullish about operations. In administration and workflow, 77% forecast that a perfected AI could lift profitability, including 20% who see the potential for a 21–30% profit boost. Writing and communication tools attracted similar optimism, with 75% believing AI could lift profits, and 15% tipping gains of 21–30%.
Confidence drops slightly in higher-judgement areas such as decision-making and customer engagement, though 68% still think AI could deliver profit improvements in these functions.
Alon Rajic (pictured), SBLA founder, said the biggest opportunity remains in using AI to streamline everyday operations.
“Businesses still see the biggest opportunity in AI is removing repetitive admin-heavy tasks, communication and moving work forward without constant human intervention,” Rajic said. “We can see the largest gains are where businesses are using AI across day-to-day operations, rather than as a one-off tool, particularly when it is built into existing software, customer service systems, and workflows.”
Looking ahead, he believes integration, not access, will define the next phase.
“Our findings point to the next phase of AI adoption being less about access to tools and more about embedding it into the way work gets done,” Rajic said. “The goal is to compound time savings across teams and weeks, and improve implementation quality for sustainable improvements in profitability.”
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