A survey of 3,022 US small business owners conducted in July 2026 by the workforce solutions provider Careerminds found that 61 percent believe artificial intelligence could already handle a meaningful share of the work done by at least one of their employees. Applied to state level small business employment, the results point to roughly 1,293,372 Georgia workers in roles where the owner thinks AI could already take over part of the job.
Loyalty emerged as the main brake on automation. One third of owners said loyalty was the primary reason they would keep an employee rather than switch to software. Another 17 percent cited long tenure, 13 percent pointed to company knowledge that would be hard to replace, 12 percent felt personally responsible for the employee financial wellbeing, and 12 percent said customers valued the relationship with that person.
Retention timelines varied widely. Twenty four percent of owners said they would keep a worker for six to twelve months if AI could do most of the job more cheaply, 18 percent for less than six months, and 18 percent for one to two years. Twenty three percent said they would retain the employee as long as the business could afford it, and 10 percent said indefinitely.
Sixty one percent reported delaying an AI rollout over the effect on staff, and 59 percent turned down a specific AI tool because it could cost jobs. Fifty six percent expect to employ fewer people because of AI within three years, and 62 percent have already discussed the subject openly with their teams.
Source: Valdosta Today - https://valdostatoday.com/news-2/region/2026/08/georgia-small-businesses-hesitant-to-replace-workers-with-ai/