97 Percent of SMBs Using AI-Powered Voice Agents See Revenue Boost

Missed Calls Are Costing SMBs Thousands of Dollars a Year Finds New Survey From Vida

AUSTIN, Texas, May 1, 2025 - A new nationwide survey from AI voice solutions company Vida reveals that small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are losing thousands of dollars a year on missed customer calls, while early adopters of AI-powered voice agents are seeing increased revenue, improved customer engagement and stronger positioning as industry leaders. 

The inaugural SMB AI Voice Agent Adoption & Impact Survey, conducted by Vida, found that SMBs who consider themselves industry leaders are significantly more likely to leverage AI-powered voice agents in their operations, particularly to manage inbound sales inquiries and customer questions. Yet, adoption is still early and uneven across the SMB landscape, largely due to perceived barriers like customer preference for humans and the seeming complexity of implementation.

“SMBs are missing more than calls - they’re missing revenue,” said Lyle Pratt, CEO and Founder of Vida. “Our survey shows that AI voice agents aren’t just a tech trend, they’re a strategic advantage. Businesses using them are seeing real gains, and we expect adoption to rise quickly as more SMBs recognize the opportunity and understand the real-world use cases.”

See an info graphic of our survey results below with more detailed information following.

Key Findings

State of the Industry

• Only 22% of SMBs currently use AI voice agents for their business, but nearly one-third (31%) plan to invest in AI-powered voice solutions within the next 12–24 months.

ROI of SMBs Using AI Voice Agents

• 97% of SMBs using AI voice agents report an increase in revenue.
• 82% say these tools have improved customer engagement, helping reduce missed calls and capture more sales opportunities.
• 80% report saving five or more hours per week, freeing up time for higher-value tasks.

Clear Leader Advantage 

• 69% of SMBs who classify themselves as leaders are already using AI-powered voice agents for customer support or sales, compared to just 22% of those who self-identify as competitive.
• 49% of SMBs who classify themselves as leaders have extensively adopted AI into their day-to-day operations. 

The Hidden Cost of Missed Calls

• 42% of SMBs estimate losing more than $500 a month - or $6000 a year - due to missed customer calls.
• 50% acknowledge broader business impacts from missed communications.
• The majority of SMBs (55%) receive between 10 and 100+ customer calls per day.

AI Voice Agent Use Cases

• The top applications for AI voice agents are inbound sales inquiries (31%) and answering FAQs (20%) - tasks that often go unattended but directly impact revenue.
• Surprisingly, only 7% are using them for customer support escalation, signaling untapped potential to improve service workflows.

Barriers to Adoption

• The top reasons SMBs cite for not adopting AI voice agents include the perception that customers prefer speaking to humans and concerns about the complexity of setup.
• Meanwhile, 61% of SMBs report feeling not at all confident or only somewhat confident in their ability to implement and integrate new technologies.

Despite these hurdles, most SMBs say they’re keeping pace with competitors when it comes to technology, but confidence in implementation tells another story. A majority of respondents described themselves as either “not at all confident” or only “somewhat confident” in their ability to integrate new tools like AI voice agents.

“There's clearly a gap between perceived tech-savviness and actual readiness to adopt these tools,” added Pratt. “While SMBs recognize the value of emerging technologies, they often lack the resources or expertise to effectively put them into practice. We want to help bridge the gap with solutions that are easy to implement and deliver ROI fast.”

The SMB AI Voice Agent Adoption & Impact Survey was conducted by Vida and Survey Monkey in March 2025, polling 320 SMB owners and managers across various industries. The survey has a margin of error of ±5%, ensuring statistically reliable insights into AI adoption trends, benefits and challenges within the SMB sector. 

About Vida

Vida is a leading provider of enterprise-grade AI voice solutions, transforming the way telecom service providers and small to medium-sized businesses operate. Vida's AI voice agents automate key business functions such as customer service, lead qualification, scheduling and sales. Founded by telecom industry veterans, Vida's proprietary voice stack integrates seamlessly with existing telecom networks and business phone systems over SIP. Leveraging advanced AI technology, Vida delivers lifelike, low-latency voice interactions for real-time, engaging conversations. For more info, please visit https://vida.io/.