Aug 24, 2026 · 55 min · 13 segments
89% of small businesses say they use AI. Only 14% have actually built it into how they operate. Chris Workman explains the gap and why the businesses that close it in the next five years will pull…
Chris WorkmanGuestNatalie DawsonHostThe US Chamber of Commerce recently reported that 89% of small businesses in America say they are using AI right now.
That is the single fastest technology adoption curve ever recorded for small and mid-sized businesses.

Small businesses are gonna go through this massive digital transformation, at least the successful ones, over the course of the next five years.
You see, adoption is buying a tool, but integrating is redesigning how your business operates around what the technology makes possible.

Not enough companies are using this and could be spending much more, to be honest, on it.

Being able to deploy much earlier in that business breakpoint, I would argue it's imperative it happens right now.
AI is creating enormous value to most businesses, and companies that have genuinely integrated AI into their operations are automating financial processes, they're building real time dashboards which cuts weeks of manual works down to hours, and they make better and faster decisions than their competitors.
Chris Workman is the head of technology at Cardone Ventures, and took a company with hundreds of team members, multiple departments, complex operations, and has embedded AI in order to drive revenue and streamline operations.
This is what it looks like when someone actually implements it, the real decisions, the real resistance, and the real ROI.
And because he is my brother, I watched the implementation happen with a front row seat, and I'm going to ask the questions that nobody else would get away with.
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The US Chamber of Commerce recently reported that 89% of small businesses in America say they are using AI right now.
That is the single fastest technology adoption curve ever recorded for small and mid-sized businesses.

Small businesses are gonna go through this massive digital transformation, at least the successful ones, over the course of the next five years.
You see, adoption is buying a tool, but integrating is redesigning how your business operates around what the technology makes possible.

Not enough companies are using this and could be spending much more, to be honest, on it.

Being able to deploy much earlier in that business breakpoint, I would argue it's imperative it happens right now.
AI is creating enormous value to most businesses, and companies that have genuinely integrated AI into their operations are automating financial processes, they're building real time dashboards which cuts weeks of manual works down to hours, and they make better and faster decisions than their competitors.
Chris Workman is the head of technology at Cardone Ventures, and took a company with hundreds of team members, multiple departments, complex operations, and has embedded AI in order to drive revenue and streamline operations.
This is what it looks like when someone actually implements it, the real decisions, the real resistance, and the real ROI.
And because he is my brother, I watched the implementation happen with a front row seat, and I'm going to ask the questions that nobody else would get away with.