Key stat: 78% of SMBs worldwide say faster content creation is the leading benefit of using LLMs for digital marketing, according to an October 2025 survey from GoodFirms.

Beyond the chart:

• The content focus isn't unique to this survey — it shows up across SMB AI adoption broadly. Two-thirds of SMBs use AI for marketing and content creation, but only 35% are applying it to customer service, according to Revenued's AI Usage Among Small Businesses report.
• The same speed-over-strategy gap holds at the broader marketing level, too. Some 79% of North American marketing professionals use AI for ideation and brainstorming, but only 27% use it for media buying strategy, according to a Basis Technologies survey.

Use this chart: Drop this in your next AI strategy or content planning meeting to show where SMBs are finding real value from LLMs. Use the benefit breakdown to benchmark how your team is deploying AI, and show leadership which use cases are driving adoption versus which ones still have room to grow.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• Email Marketing 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• Ad Agency Trends 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the November 2025 GoodFirms "LLM Applications in Content Writing, SEO, and Marketing Campaign Design: A Goodfirms Survey." 363 SMBs worldwide were surveyed online from October 9-20, 2025. Respondents represented over 15 industries and more than 25 countries worldwide, including the Australia, Canada, Greece, India, United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the US. Respondents includes 67% small businesses/startups, 28% medium-sized businesses, and 5% large enterprises. Among respondents, 72% were CEOs, founders, or directors; 18% were digital marketing managers; 5% were SEO managers; and 5% were content managers. Data were analyzed across company size, role, and industry segments to evaluate trends in large language model (LLM) applications for marketing and content creation.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.