Gusto Finds AI Adopters Hire Faster

Gusto reports that small businesses adopting artificial intelligence increased headcount faster than comparable businesses that had not adopted it. Its analysis compared payroll data from 1,593 AI-adopting small businesses with 669 businesses aware of AI but not using it. AI adopters grew headcount about 7% more in the year after adoption, with the gap rising from about 4.5% to 6.8% by the end of the fourth quarter. The results point to added hiring in hands-on and customer-facing jobs, including care providers, cooks, technicians, teachers, and administrative support.

Payroll Data Tracks Hiring

The Small Businesses that Adopted AI Are Hiring Faster report follows respondents to Gusto’s 2025 Main Street Meets Machine Learning survey and examines workforce changes in the year after businesses began using AI.

Gusto found that the smallest companies saw the largest difference. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees grew their teams about 10% more than comparable non-adopters. For a typical nine-person business, Gusto said that works out to an extra hire within a year.

Hiring Spans Hands On Roles

The hiring difference appeared across restaurants, manufacturers, and accounting firms rather than only among software companies. Health care and social-assistance businesses had the strongest sector growth, with practices of fewer than 10 employees, including dental offices and mental health clinics, growing headcount nearly 20% more than comparable non-adopters.

Those health care businesses largely hired more care providers, such as dental hygienists and therapists, rather than technologists. Across AI adopters, new roles also included teachers, technicians, cooks, front-desk staff, and administrative support.

Time Saved Supports Growth

Gusto’s findings suggest that owners may be using time freed up by AI to serve more customers and add staff, rather than building AI-specific teams.

“This data pushes back on the idea that AI is coming for jobs on Main Street. The smallest businesses are the ones who are most used to doing more with fewer resources. Smaller teams have historically meant that people are doing tasks that stretch outside of what they're hired to do. AI may be shifting their work back to their expertise, and supporting a business's productivity. Small business owners seem to be investing that back into their businesses through increased hiring.”

A Signal For Small Employers

In this sample, businesses using AI added workers faster than peers that had not adopted it. For founders and employers weighing AI tools, the report’s results center on workforce growth in everyday operating roles, not just technical hiring.