Business columnist Gene Marks argues that while large US corporations are using AI to cut jobs, small businesses are instead deploying it to make their existing, often stretched, workforces more productive. He cites examples such as a window and door retailer whose AI tool listens to sales conversations and auto-generates quotes, and a company using Claude to let its support team quickly find answers in technical documentation, suggesting the technology is being used to reduce errors and free up staff rather than replace them.

The piece points to labour market data to support this: US employment has risen 9% since mid-2021 according to the Department of Labor, with payroll processors ADP, Gusto and Paychex all reporting continued job gains, particularly among smaller firms. Gusto forecasts small businesses will hire around 974,000 recent graduates in 2026, up from 962,000 in 2025, while job openings stand at nearly 7.6 million. Marks attributes the trend partly to a shrinking US workforce driven by an ageing population, lower birth rates and a shortage of immigrant labour, arguing that robotics remain too costly and underdeveloped to replace roles in construction and services, leaving AI to support rather than supplant human workers.