One South Florida franchisor calls ChatGPT his best friend. Not every small business owner in the region is as sold.
Every morning, Robert Cvetkovski checks an AI alert flagging new catering prospects for his sandwich shop franchise. "Me and my ChatGPT, we love each other," the Jupiter resident said.
The Numbers Behind the Enthusiasm
Almost 60% of small businesses in Florida now use AI for business operations. That's more than double the share reported in 2023, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report.
Cvetkovski, who franchises Palm Beach County-based Jon Smith Subs, discovered ChatGPT over a year ago. He's now "inseparable from it," using it for lease reviews, location scouting and social media.
"I run my leases in there, I run contracts through it," he said. "I wouldn't know how to function without ChatGPT." He credits the tool with a 30% jump in his social media following.
Why Some Businesses Are Hiring Because of AI, Not Despite It
Hadi Amini is an associate professor at Florida International University's Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences. He sees a pattern that cuts against the standard AI-replaces-jobs narrative.
"Initially, they try to adopt AI from some of the commercial tools, then after a while, they realize they need someone inside," Amini said, describing companies hiring specifically to integrate AI into operations.
Nate Forsyth, owner of Westlake-based Life Logic Group, says AI cut his website development time from weeks to 24 hours. Clients are increasingly drawn to AI phone assistants too.
"An unanswered call might be $10,000 to them," Forsyth said. "The AI doesn't take days off, doesn't get sick, works 24/7."
Not Every Client Is Convinced
Bridget Greenwald, owner of the Boca Raton-based Camden Agency, has seen the opposite reaction from some clients. She recently reassured one that a video featured a real person, not an AI creation.
"People are very suspicious of what's real and what's not," Greenwald said. Her clients still tend to prefer content made by an actual person over AI output.
That tension is showing up nationally too. A Careerminds study found 58% of small business owners think AI could already handle a meaningful share. That's at least one employee's work.
Why Owners Aren't Rushing to Replace Staff
In Florida, that finding could translate to roughly 2.6 million workers in roles employers believe AI could partially handle.
Still, most aren't making the swap. A third of business owners cited loyalty as their main reason for keeping employees over software. Institutional knowledge and customer relationships were close behind.
Christopher Boudreaux, an economics professor at Florida Atlantic University, thinks the apocalyptic framing misses what's actually happening.
"It's more likely it will transform jobs," Boudreaux said, describing AI as more likely to absorb specific tasks than eliminate entire positions.
What This Means for South Florida's Workforce
That demand is already reshaping South Florida's classrooms, where local colleges and universities have reported surging enrollment in AI-related programs.
For small businesses specifically, Boudreaux sees an opening rather than a threat. "This will allow them to punch above their weight," he said, a bet a growing share of South Florida's small business owners are already placing.
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