SMB AI Adoption Cost Estimator

This estimator gives a conservative 3-year total cost of ownership (TCO) for AI adoption in a US small business (1–25 employees). Adjust the sliders and inputs, then review the breakdown below.

1. Company profile

Number of employees Average fully loaded cost per employee (USD/year)

AI maturity Regulatory exposure level

2. Planned AI scope

Number of AI tools / major modules Average license cost per tool (USD/month)

Core focus Users directly impacted by AI (people)

3. Assumptions

These are conservative default multipliers derived from 2024–2026 implementation studies. You can tweak them if you want to model different scenarios.

Data & integration multiplier on annual license cost (Year 1) Training & change multiplier on annual license cost (Year 1) Annual maintenance as % of Year‑1 implementation

Adoption productivity dip (% of impacted labor cost, Year 1) Productivity dip duration (months) Expected steady‑state efficiency gain on impacted work (%)

4. 3‑Year Cost & Benefit Estimate

Component	Year 1 (USD)	Year 2 (USD)	Year 3 (USD)	3‑Year Total (USD)
Licenses
Data & integration
Training & change
Maintenance & support
Productivity dip (opportunity cost)
Total costs
Efficiency benefits (labor savings)
Net value (benefit − cost)
ROI (%)