Should I automate a process with AI before fixing it?

No. Define what the process should produce, find where it breaks, assign an owner and set a measure first. AI applied to a broken process makes the same mistakes faster.

Do growing small businesses use AI more?

PYMNTS' October 2026 SMB Growth Report found 57% of SMBs with rising 2025 revenue use AI frequently, compared with 29% of those with flat revenue.

AI Won't Fix a Broken Process. It Will Make It Faster.

Growing small businesses use AI about twice as often as flat ones. The difference is not the tool. It is having a process worth automating.

George Fassett, Jr. · October 11, 2026

PYMNTS' October 2026 SMB Growth Report found that 57% of small and mid-sized businesses whose revenue rose in 2025 use AI frequently, versus 29% of those with flat revenue. Both groups had tried AI at about the same rate. Six in 10 AI users say it lets them produce more work without adding staff. And 14% of businesses have picked up work fixing AI-generated output.

That last number is the warning. AI applied to a messy process produces mess faster.

Fix the Process First

Before automating anything, answer four questions:

What is the process supposed to produce? A quote, an invoice, a scheduled job.
Where does it break today? Missing information, re-entry, waiting on approvals.
Who owns it? If no one does, AI will not either.
How will you know it is better? Time, errors, cost per transaction.

Then Automate the Right Parts

Repetitive, rule-based steps such as data entry, first replies and scheduling.
Drafting, not deciding. Let AI draft the quote or email; let a person approve it.
One process at a time. Prove it, measure it, then move to the next.

Why the Growing Businesses Pull Ahead

The report's point is that frequent use, not first use, separates the two groups. Frequent use only sticks when AI is built into how work actually flows.

This is business process improvement with better tools. See operations consulting, or talk with George.

The method behind this

Process Before AI: The rule that a process is mapped and fixed before it is automated. Software and AI speed up whatever process they are given, including a broken one, so automation comes after the process is sound.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I automate a process with AI before fixing it?: No. Define what the process should produce, find where it breaks, assign an owner and set a measure first. AI applied to a broken process makes the same mistakes faster.
Do growing small businesses use AI more?: PYMNTS' October 2026 SMB Growth Report found 57% of SMBs with rising 2025 revenue use AI frequently, compared with 29% of those with flat revenue.

All insights · Talk with George