(The Center Square) – A new survey says Wisconsin businesses are thinking about artificial intelligence, but they’re not yet thinking it is a major problem.
Better Business Wisconsin recently released its 2026 Accredited Business Survey that asked business owners across the state about their worries, their challenges and thoughts of AI.
Hiring, costs and finding new customers took the top three spots on the survey’s challenges list.
“Our latest survey shows that Wisconsin businesses are navigating a complex mix of workforce shortages, rising costs, and rapid technological change – while remaining deeply committed to trust, transparency, and quality customer service,” BBB Wisconsin President and CEO Jim Temmer said. “As AI adoption grows, businesses are asking important questions about ethics, accountability, and consumer confidence, and BBB is proud to help lead those conversations.”
The survey says 30% of businesses said finding qualified staff was their biggest challenge. That’s the same number that said finding new customers was their biggest challenge. The survey said 37% of businesses say increasing costs and inflation is their biggest concern.
Just 17% of businesses said making their business visible in AI searches was a problem.
But the survey also said that embracing AI is the number one area of opportunity for Wisconsin businesses.
“As technology rapidly evolves, businesses view AI as both an inevitable evolution and a potential threat. Currently, 50% of BBB Accredited Businesses are not yet using AI, while the other 50% use it primarily for simple applications like writing or editing emails, creating social media posts, drafting website or marketing content, brainstorming ideas, summarizing long documents or messages, and designing simple graphics or images,” The BBB said in the survey. “Notably, half of the respondents believe that AI can help increase their overall business competitiveness.”
