Perspective
Most small businesses are winging AI adoption
AI governance
Most small businesses now use AI in some form, around 60 percent by the US Chamber's 2025 survey, but most are still in an exploration phase. Employees adopt tools on their own, and few companies have set any written policy for what can and cannot be shared with them. That gap is not a technology problem. It is a governance problem that creates real exposure around data leakage, regulatory compliance, and vendor lock-in. The organizations that get ahead of it define a minimum viable policy, audit what is already in use, and set clear expectations before an incident forces the issue.
Further reading · US Chamber of Commerce
Empowering Small Business (2025 report)
This is the kind of problem I help companies work through.
If AI is spreading across the company faster than anyone is governing it, that is the conversation.
I work as a fractional CIO or CTO for companies that need senior technology leadership without a full-time hire.