Workforce services company Careerminds surveyed 3,022 small-business owners nationwide in July 2026 and applied the results to employment estimates, concluding that roughly 1.29 million Georgia workers hold jobs where artificial intelligence could handle some portion of the work.
Sixty-one percent of the owners surveyed said AI could substantially reduce or replace the work of at least one employee. Asked why they keep a worker instead of switching to AI, 33 percent cited loyalty, the most common answer. Another 17 percent pointed to the employee's length of service, 13 percent to the worker's knowledge of the business, 12 percent to a sense of responsibility for the worker's finances, and 12 percent to customer relationships.
On timing, 24 percent said they would retain an employee for six to 12 months even if AI could do most of the work at lower cost. Twenty-three percent said they would keep the worker as long as the business could afford it, and 10 percent said they would keep the employee indefinitely.
Fifty-six percent of owners expect AI to leave their businesses with fewer workers within three years. Sixty-one percent said they had delayed adopting AI because of its effect on employees, and 59 percent had rejected a specific AI tool because it would cause job losses.
The Georgia figure is a modeled estimate produced by applying national survey results to state employment data. Careerminds did not disclose the number of Georgia respondents or a margin of error for the state number.
Source: The Georgia Sun - https://thegeorgiasun.com/family/economy/georgia-bosses-say-ai-could-do-part-of-1-3-million-georgia-workers-jobs/