For Sam Alexander ChatGPT has been game changing.

Alexander and his partner began using artificial intelligence to write adverts and social media posts for their Queenstown Airbnb cleaning business about four months ago, and he says there is no going back.

He estimates they are able to save at least two hours each day by relying on AI (artificial intelligence) for Dream Clean – enabling it to do all the creative writing for the business, something Alexander says he is embarrassed to admit.

“We use it for all of our adverts and all the content you can imagine on Facebook and Instagram.

“You just type it in ChatGPT, or ChatBot that we use in WhatsApp, and it just spits out very eloquent descriptive stuff about what we do and how we do it – it just saves you staring at a computer screen blankly normally,” says the builder.

Alexander said the AI-generated posts generate just as much if not more interest in the business, and the potential for the technology as it developed would only get greater.

“I was against it at first as some of the earlier models were a bit naff, but now they are really up-to-date and gives you just exactly what you need. We love it.”

“In 10 years time, I think it will be like the dot com era in that whoever got with AI [in the early days] will be the ones standing at the top of the pyramid. The potential for it is huge.”

New Zealand small businesses are generally ahead of the curve when it comes to using artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, when compared to some countries, according to a new survey.

AI is being used for a range of tasks in New Zealand including administration, creative writing and assisting with customer service. In Australia it is also being used for customer service and to draft internal company communications.

Creative writing is currently the top use-case for AI here, the Employsure’s survey of small businesses’ adoption across Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Britain.

Conducted by global consultancy firm Peninsula Group, the survey found New Zealand small businesses were fast-adopters of tech and AI, but still lagged behind the level of use in Australia and Canada.

Ireland has embraced AI the most of the five countries, with 10% of Irish employees saying it is regularly used in their businesses – double that of Canada, New Zealand and Britain.

According to the report, 65% of New Zealand SMEs have not yet utilised AI, meanwhile almost a quarter of small businesses using it say it has had a positive impact on their business.

Only 2% say they’ve seen negative impacts since using AI.

Maddie McKenzie, lead employment relations adviser at Employsure NZ, said the benefits of AI adoption would be determined by striking the right balance between automation and human interaction.

“While there have been some incredible advances with AI, it is still very much in its infancy. Without those set-in-stone regulations I can see why small business owners would be hesitant, they like to have that security and those privacy measures, and it does pose an increase risk without it,” said McKenzie.

More than half of New Zealand SMEs surveyed said the use of AI at work was useful, or has the potential to positively impact their business.

Over half said AI would not reduce their workforce. That was quite a lot higher than what was recorded in other markets, McKenzie said.

Nearly a quarter said AI had already, or probably would at some point replace jobs.

While the ethical debate over artificial intelligence had begun, McKenzie said AI had the potential to boost productivity and save organisations hours of time, and money, through the automation of mundane tasks.

More businesses are turning to AI to solve issues, one ‘exhausted’ Auckland store owner Maree Trow of Stirling Sports Pukekohe has turned to AI to detect crimes – before they even happen, following a spate of ramraids.

But McKenzie said fewer SMEs were adopting it as quickly as first thought as there were no regulations policing AI, leading to widespread concerns around security and confidentiality.

“I don’t think small business owners will put full trust or fully incorporate AI into their business until there is some regulation from a government organisation like the Privacy Commission.”