AI has revolutionized SME marketing, but customers aren’t applauding

In just three years, artificial intelligence has become the third most popular marketing tool among domestic small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2025, 58 percent of businesses will already use AI-based solutions for marketing purposes, which represents a 38 percent increase in one year. Only 2 percent of respondents said they had never used artificial intelligence.

“There was no precedent for such rapid expansion in the marketing of SMEs. Artificial intelligence has become an essential tool in just a few years, and businesses are already spending about 10 percent of their marketing budget specifically for it. AI is primarily used to increase efficiency: text writing, content production, image creation and editing, translation and information search,” highlighted Gábor Wolf, Marketing Commando’s senior consultant.

Customers are not very happy

According to the research, the use of AI-supported marketing is not without its problems: almost a quarter of the surveyed businesses (24 percent) already perceive consumer resistance to advertisements and content created with the help of AI.

This is supported by a separate control study of 300 people. 41 percent of the respondents find advertisements made with perceptible artificial intelligence particularly disturbing, especially among younger and more highly educated groups. Only 3 percent believe that it increases credibility if an advertisement is made with the help of AI, while 53 percent believe that it makes it worse. Such content is automatically scrolled over or closed by 28 percent of respondents, and only 11 percent are interested.

“People’s problem is not that an advertisement was made with artificial intelligence, but that it is bad. AI only enhances this. In the eyes of customers, there is no added value in itself if an advertisement was made with the help of AI,” said Gábor Wolf.

According to the small business marketing expert, AI should be used more as a supporting technology: a tool that speeds up work and facilitates execution, while still focusing on the quality of the offer, clear messages and creativity. Human editing is particularly important for textual content, because authenticity and the presence of experts continue to play a key role in building consumer trust. If these are in order, whether AI was involved in the implementation is a secondary question for the audience.

Facebook further fattened its advantage

Among SMEs, Facebook was still the most popular marketing tool in 2025: 84 percent of businesses use it, which means an increase of 8 percent in one year. The website is still in second place with a rate of 68 percent, while artificial intelligence improved two places to become the third most used tool.

“Artificial intelligence is now affecting almost all areas. We see that the spread of AI-based content production can also play a role in the strengthening of Facebook, which makes it easier for SMEs to maintain a social media presence. At the same time, devices that require a significant personal presence are shrinking,” explained Gábor Wolf.

The use of Instagram fell slightly, slipping back to fourth place with a 50 percent share. Google is fifth with 46 percent, newsletter sending is sixth with 42 percent, and making offers is seventh with 38 percent. The recommendation fell more than that: with its 37 percent rate, it dropped four positions to eighth place. Search engine optimization is still ninth at 35 percent, while blogging improved one place and returned to the top ten, and TikTok dropped out of the list.

AI has finally been integrated into the marketing of SMEs

“Artificial intelligence has passed the stage when it was still considered a novelty or an experimental tool. Today, the question is more about how competently a business uses AI,” emphasized Gábor Wolf.

Businesses that use AI tools competently can communicate on multiple channels at the same time, in greater volume and faster. This allows SMEs to create more content and more ads, as well as build a stronger presence, which directly supports customer acquisition and branding and can give them a competitive edge in the market.

At the same time, technology further democratizes marketing execution. An increasing number of previously outsourced tasks –