Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh dropped a number this week that should recalibrate every AI conversation happening in Australian boardrooms. According to ABS data, just 7% of Australian businesses have broadly adopted AI. Another 19% are using it in limited ways. The remaining 74% report no AI use at all.
Leigh cited the figures during a speech about competition policy and productivity. His argument is straightforward: Australia cannot afford to be a slow adopter when AI is reshaping productivity across every sector. The gap between the global AI conversation, which assumes widespread adoption, and the Australian business reality is wider than most marketers and consultants assume.
The ABS data covers all business sizes and sectors. Adoption rates climb with business size, as you would expect. Large enterprises are far more likely to be experimenting. But the 7% figure for broad adoption means that even among mid-market and enterprise businesses, AI is not yet embedded in core operations for the vast majority.
Of Australian businesses report no AI use at all, per ABS data
For marketers, the gap creates both risk and opportunity. The risk is obvious: if your competitors are in the 7% and you are in the 74%, the productivity gap compounds every quarter. The opportunity is that being early still means something in this market. Australia is not the US or UK, where AI adoption in marketing is further along. Here, a business that integrates AI into its content production, analytics, customer segmentation or media buying still has genuine first-mover advantage.
Leigh's broader policy point is about structural incentives. He wants the government to make it easier for small and mid-sized businesses to experiment with AI, including clearer guidance on responsible use, better access to training and potentially incentive structures. Whether policy moves fast enough to matter is a separate question.
Why it matters
The hype cycle makes it feel like everyone is using AI. The data says otherwise. For marketing teams and agencies, this means the competitive landscape is more uneven than it appears. Businesses already using AI for campaign optimisation, content velocity or customer intelligence are operating on a different curve. The 74% who have not started are not just behind on a trend. They are accumulating a productivity debt that gets harder to close the longer they wait.
What to do about it
Do not let the hype cycle convince you that the race is over. In Australia, it is barely underway. Start with one use case that connects directly to revenue or efficiency: automated reporting, AI-assisted content drafts, predictive lead scoring or dynamic ad creative. Measure the time saved and the output quality. Then expand. The goal is not to be an AI company. The goal is to be in the 7% before the 74% catches up.
The window for competitive advantage does not stay open forever. But right now, in this market, it is still wide open.
