New Delhi, Oct. 26 -- Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among rural small business owners surged to 80 per cent in 2026 from 47 per cent in 2024 in US, however, a lack of technical expertise still continues to hinder deeper AI integration among rural users, according to a report by Goldman Sachs.

The report highlighted a sharp rise in AI adoption among graduates of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme, with usage increasing from 56 per cent in July 2024 to 77 per cent in 2025 and further to 86 per cent in 2026, indicating growing integration of AI into small business operations.

It further highlighted, 86 per cent of AI-using small business owners rely on standalone generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemi...