GoDaddy’s 2024 Global Entrepreneurship Survey reveals insights into the outlook of small business in UAE regarding their growth, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Among these insights, the overwhelming majority (96%) of small business owners believe that AI implementation would likely yield a tangible positive impact on their bottom line.
Potential power of artificial intelligence for small businesses
Eighty-five percent of small business owners and entrepreneurs surveyed in the MENA region are optimistic about their business prospects, expecting growth within the next 3-5 years. In embracing this growth, a significant focus lies on digital transformation, with 54% intending to leverage digitization to expand market reach and acquire new customers, while 41% aim to enhance customer engagement and experience through digital means.
The survey results highlight a high level of confidence (93%) among respondents regarding their ability to navigate and leverage AI technologies for business purposes. The small business tasks respondents feel will benefit most from AI assistance include marketing (67%), business planning and strategy (53%), and financial management (43%).
Small businesses are strongly inclined to integrate AI technologies into their operations. Entrepreneurs and small business owners are primarily driven to use AI by the potential for increased efficiency (45%), positive impacts on customer experience (43%), and gaining a competitive edge in their respective industries (41%).
Challenges in AI implementation
Nevertheless, concerns about implementation persist, with over one-third (38%) citing high implementation costs as a significant challenge if they were to adopt AI for their business. Other concerns include a lack of skilled personnel (24%) and integration challenges with existing systems (20%).
Similarly, the survey results also identify the top three reasons why some small business owners have not yet adopted AI technologies, with concerns about potential costs (47%)topping the list again. This was followed by a lack of awareness about available solutions (44%), and a lack of understanding about AI’s benefits for their business (43%).
To help entrepreneurs and small business owners address these challenges, GoDaddy offers user-friendly AI services like GoDaddy Studio and domains with a .ai extension.
GoDaddy is further supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners, by offering free AI resources including GoDaddy’s AI prompt library to help entrepreneurs learn how AI can streamline their workflows, saving them time while accelerating the growth of their business. This carefully curated collection is designed to assist entrepreneurs in various business tasks like content creation for marketing and simplification of customer service.
“GoDaddy is dedicated to supporting small business owners in their digital journey with the tools and resources to help them save time and grow their business,” said Selina Bieber, vice president for International Markets at GoDaddy. “This carefully curated collection is here to assist entrepreneurs in various business tasks including content creation, social media management, and simplification of customer service; enabling them to enhance their online presence.”