Understanding how small businesses actually adopt AI tools

A product research team partnered with CleverX to learn how small-business owners and small-team operators actually use AI tools, where they get stuck, and what they are trying to get done. The goal was 45-minute moderated interviews on CleverX's video platform with owners who use AI as a real part of their week.

• The target was owners and operators, not employees experimenting with AI on the side.
• Genuine regular use had to be confirmed, not one-off curiosity.
• Small businesses in two different countries were in scope for the same study.
• The small-team context, from self-employed up to about 50 staff, had to stay consistent.

CleverX screened on ownership plus a clear, specific usage bar.

• Eligibility required owner or partner seniority at companies from self-employed up to 50 people.
• A usage bar confirmed AI tools were used at least three times a week for at least six months.
• Naming the leading AI assistants in the screener anchored what counted as real usage.
• Interviews ran 45 minutes on the CleverX platform.

• Moderated interviews ran with verified, regular AI-using owners across two markets.
• The frequency-and-tenure screen filtered out casual users before the interview, protecting depth.
• Owner-level targeting meant every conversation reached a real decision-maker.

• A specific usage bar (three times a week for six months or more) beats a vague "do you use AI?" question.
• Requiring owner seniority keeps the conversation on real business needs and buying authority.
• One screener can cover multiple markets when the criteria are held constant.