AI-affected, employee-free business applications rise 26.8%
CNBC data show applications in AI-exposed, likely employee-free industries climbing to about 281,000, while hiring-oriented applications fell 6.4%.
Applications for new businesses in industries highly affected by AI that are likely to operate without employees rose 26.8%, from about 222,000 in the first quarter of 2024 to about 281,000 in the first quarter of 2026, according to CNBC.
Over the same period, applications for new businesses likely to hire employees fell 6.4%, CNBC reported.
Alex Willan, who runs 12 e-commerce brands without employees, told the outlet he expects revenue of $2.5–3 million this year. He uses Anthropic's Claude for accounting, customer service, advertising and inventory, and OpenAI's image tools for product photography and design. Willan said product photography used to cost $2,000–5,000 and designer product-image work $300–1,000, costs he has reduced.
After acquiring outdoor brand Lone Trail, Willan used ChatGPT and Claude to revamp the Shopify site and improve Meta ad operations, lifting Shopify's share of revenue from about 1% to about 30% over the last 30 days, according to the report.
Founders report faster starts with AI tools
Kristine Ginn, who left Microsoft in March 2026 to found AI consulting firm trnsfrmAItn, uses AI for proposals, pricing and strategy and reached $250,000 in business within 7 months of founding, CNBC reported. In a FreshBooks survey, 79% of respondents said they try AI first before delegating difficult tasks to people.
Payroll software firm Gusto found that small businesses that adopted AI had about 7% more employees a year later than a comparison group, and about 10% more at firms with fewer than 10 employees.
Quick answers
How much did employee-free business applications rise?
Applications for new businesses in industries highly affected by AI that are likely to operate without employees rose 26.8%, from about 222,000 in Q1 2024 to about 281,000 in Q1 2026, according to CNBC.
What did the Gusto data show about AI adoption and hiring?
Small businesses that adopted AI had about 7% more employees a year later than a comparison group, and about 10% more at firms with fewer than 10 employees.
Which AI tools does Alex Willan use to run his brands?
He uses Anthropic's Claude for accounting, customer service, ads and inventory, and OpenAI's image tools for product photography and design, plus ChatGPT and Claude for his Shopify site and Meta ad operations.