2026 Field Report
6 min read
Most Knoxville owners we heard from already use AI, and many say it saves them time every week. Far fewer have a policy, an owner, or a repeatable process for it. This report covers what they told us and what to do about it.
Owners report real time savings and some revenue gains. Policies, ownership, and documented processes trail well behind actual use, and that gap is where both the risk and the upside sit.
In short: 90% of respondents use AI in some form, and 74% use it at least once a day.
For most, the open question is how to make it consistent.
Chat tools are how most people start, and marketing is the most common use. The larger gains tend to come later, when a prompt that worked once gets written down as a process the whole team can follow.
“The tedious website building and ad creation and running”
Survey respondent · Professional Services
In short: 84% say AI saves their team time each week, and 45% save more than ten hours.
68% report at least some effect on revenue, and 45% report lower costs.
Respondents describe AI as giving them hours back more than cutting spending. Those hours only matter if they go somewhere useful, like faster follow-up, more time selling, or fewer delays.
“Manual data entry, lower time spent researching”
Survey respondent · Hospitality
Saving time but not seeing it in results? In a free session we'll look at one of your workflows and find where the hours are leaking.
Book a complimentary session →In short: 81% have no finished AI policy, and 35% say nobody leads their AI efforts.
Meanwhile 61% expect to spend more on it.
More spending without an owner tends to produce duplicate subscriptions, uneven quality, and customer data pasted into tools nobody approved. A one-page policy and a named owner fix most of that without adding red tape.
“Ongoing reporting with accurate data sent to client. Automate client personas and monthly workflows for delivery, approval and publishing.”
Survey respondent · Healthcare
In short: 42% name lack of knowledge as an obstacle.
42% worry about data privacy or security. Cost comes up for 16%.
Most of these obstacles come down to missing information. Owners aren't sure which tasks suit AI or what is safe to put into it. That's good news, because training and clear rules are cheaper than software.
Not sure what's safe or where to start? That's the most common obstacle in this study, and a single conversation usually answers it.
Talk it through with us →In short: 74% rate AI as important to their business over the next five years, while 68% rate their own familiarity that high.
65% expect it to change their industry.
People feel the pressure but are less sure of their own skill. 55% think AI brings more opportunities than problems, and 71% think companies that ignore it will fall behind.
In short: Marketing and internal automation are the two most common priorities for the next twelve months, ahead of sales and reporting.
A sensible order is to free up internal time first, then spend it on visibility, response speed, and customer experience. Pick workflows because they fit how you work, not because a tool is new.
“Lead generation”
Survey respondent · Professional Services
We asked each respondent to name the one task or bottleneck they most want AI to fix. Most answers fell into four groups. Shares are of all written answers, so they add up to less than 100%.
A practical first step: Pick the one task someone retypes every week. Map where the data comes from and where it ends up, then automate the copy step and keep a person on review.
A practical first step: Build a repeatable content process: one brief, a reusable prompt set, and a fixed approval step. Measure leads or inquiries, not posts published.
A practical first step: Standardize the inputs first. AI summarizes and drafts well when the source data arrives in the same shape every time.
A practical first step: Write down each handoff and who owns it. AI can draft replies, quotes, and status updates once the steps are clear.
Choose the smallest safe layer that can solve the problem. Move up only when the work needs more coordination, special rules, or its own experience.
You need a stable system of record, mature permissions, payments, signatures, secure files, or another common function.
One clear trigger starts predictable work, and the output is a task, draft, notification, or field update.
A team needs a shared queue, owners, statuses, approvals, corrections, reports, or escalation.
The work needs a dedicated experience, specialized rules, related data, role-based access, or audit history.
Adapted from Be Known’s Buy vs. Build guide.
The best AI tool depends on what you need it to do and how carefully the result must be checked.
Compare AI tools in the full guide →Drafts, summaries, outlines, repurposing, and first-pass analysis.
Give the tool source material, a clear audience, and a human reviewer.Finding sources, comparing claims, and organizing what is known or uncertain.
Require citations and verify important claims in the original source.Moving repeatable work between systems after a clear trigger.
Map the trigger, inputs, output, owner, and exception path.Specialized work that needs its own interface, rules, permissions, or history.
Test the process manually before deciding what the application must do.Answer three quick questions. You’ll get a practical path, then you can ask the report advisor a follow-up.
Name the delay, handoff, or repeated task you want gone. With a clear target, picking a tool is easier and you can tell whether it worked.
Save the prompts, inputs, review steps, and owner, so a useful experiment doesn't disappear when one person gets busy.
Decide what data stays out of AI tools, which tools are approved, and when a person reviews the output. Do it before use spreads further.
Measure time saved, turnaround, response speed, and revenue. How often someone opens a tool tells you very little.
If these answers are unclear, that is the reason to pause before choosing a tool.
These are Be Known systems, not Knoxville survey findings. Each started with a specific job rather than a request for “more AI.”
Scores recorded calls, flags coaching opportunities, and gives leaders a clearer view of rep performance.
Keeps client work in one place while clients communicate by text, email, Slack, voice note, or the portal.
Shows job status and workload in a system shaped around how the business actually operates.
Turns a consultant’s process into a guided client experience that can expand as the offer grows.
Packages an expert’s system so it can be delivered to more people without adding a full sales team.
Scans a card, creates the CRM contact, and sets a follow-up reminder in one short workflow.
These Be Known client examples are not part of the Knoxville survey data. They show how the decision guide can translate into working systems.
A system scores recorded calls, flags coaching opportunities, and runs prospect simulations without requiring the founder to review every recording.
Why it matters: Use AI where the inputs already exist and the same judgment has to be repeated often.
See the example →A professional-services founder recaptured 15–18 hours a week after advertising, funnels, and CRM operations were brought into one managed system.
Why it matters: The payoff often comes from removing coordination work, not adding another standalone AI tool.
See the example →A purpose-built app turns a business card into a CRM contact and a follow-up reminder in one short workflow.
Why it matters: A narrow tool can be more useful than a large platform when the trigger and destination are clear.
See the example →Send them the local findings and the workflow advisor. The link opens directly to the public report.
Book a complimentary 1:1 AI consultation with Be Known, LLC. We’ll find at least two ways AI could save you 5+ hours per week, then outline the first practical step. Zero pitch—just a focused plan to help your company grow faster and run smoother.
Book your complimentary session →