According to a Salesforce survey, 78% of Indian small and medium-sized businesses use or experiment with AI. The top three use cases are automated service chatbots, marketing campaign optimization, and creating new content. Furthermore, 93% of Indian SMBs using AI feel it boosts income.  

Salesforce published the sixth edition of the Small & Medium Business Trends Report, which includes insights from 3,350 leaders from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in 26 countries, including 200 in India. The report focuses on how forward-thinking SMBs leverage AI to foster growth in the era of autonomous AI agents.  

In India, 41% of SMB leaders are concerned that their organization may fall behind in AI adoption. As technology options and capabilities grow, SMB executives face increasing pressure to manage their tech stack successfully. Sixty per cent find it challenging to keep up with evolving technology, and 35% say they have less time to learn all of the technologies their organization utilizes.  

According to the survey, 86% of SMBs in India believe that enhancing the quality of their data will boost income. With customer trust at its lowest point in years, SMBs seek reliable partnerships as they navigate a world of security concerns and rapid technological development.  

Ninety-one percent of SMBs in India stated they would spend more on technology from reputable vendors. The top three SMB worries about AI in India are security risks, a tie between compliance concerns and customer distrust of AI, and inadequate data quality.  

"AI and agents are reshaping what's possible across business functions like marketing, sales, service, and commerce," stated Salesforce India's Managing Director of Sales, Arun Kumar Parameswaran. "Small enterprises are demonstrating that size does not limit innovation or growth. SMBs may scale more efficiently by adopting AI-driven solutions like autonomous agents, which provide personalized customer experiences and optimize back-office operations." 

Full report Salesforce