Seven in Ten Small Business Owners Have Filmed a Video for Their Business and Never Posted It

New HeyGen survey finds women and trust based professionals like lawyers and financial advisors are adopting AI avatar video faster than any other group.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A new HeyGen survey of more than 1,000 small business owners and solopreneurs finds that 71.6% have recorded a video for their business and then decided not to post it.

Key findings:

• 71.6% of small business owners have recorded a video for their business and then decided not to post it. Those who shelve a video are 1.5x more likely to believe they've lost business to a competitor.
• Women report the camera draining them at nearly double the rate of men (43.6% vs. 28.4%) and are more likely to shelve a finished video (76.6% vs. 69.6%). They use AI avatar video at a higher rate than men (56% vs. 54.8%).
• Among small business owners surveyed, financial services (78.4%) and legal (77.3%) professionals report the highest rates of avatar led AI video adoption, well above real estate (65.6%) and health and wellness (46.1%).
• Non-users' top fear is that an avatar will look fake (50.7%). Users report a warmer audience reception (3.49/5) than non-users predict (3.06/5).

Nearly 7 in 10 small business owners (69.3%) agree that posting video helps build their brand and win business. The gap shows up after the camera stops rolling. People who shelve a video are 1.5 times more likely to believe they've already lost business to a competitor.

Women report the camera draining them at nearly double the rate of men and are more likely to have shelved a finished video. They use AI avatar video at a higher rate than men.

For small business owners whose livelihood depends on being trusted by strangers, video has become the price of entry. That's true nowhere more than in legal and financial services, which report the highest rates of avatar led AI video adoption of any sector surveyed, ahead of real estate and well ahead of health and wellness. Legal professionals report losing business to a more visible competitor at 69.6%, above the 55.6% average across all respondents.

"The people you'd expect to be most cautious about AI are the ones adopting it fastest," said HeyGen CMO Andrew Mok. "Lawyers and financial advisors can't afford to be invisible, and women have told us for years that the camera costs them more than it costs everyone else. An avatar doesn't remove the need to show up. It removes the tax on showing up."

Among small business owners who use avatar led AI video, 71.1% say it has saved them significant time, 55.3% say it has let them post more often, and 17.6% report new leads or business they wouldn't otherwise have won.

Cost is not the top concern for non-users. Authenticity is. 50.7% worry an avatar will look fake, ahead of cost and ROI concerns at 43.3%. Non-users predict a middling audience reaction, 3.06 out of 5. People who have used avatar video report a warmer response, 3.49 out of 5.

Full findings, including generational, industry, and regional breakdowns, are available at http://www.heygen.com/the-state-of-ai-avatars-2026.

ABOUT THE SURVEY
This survey was commissioned by HeyGen in August 2026 among small business owners, defined as people working at companies with fewer than 100 employees, drawn from HeyGen's global user community. More than 1,000 small business owners participated, representing businesses across more than 40 countries. The survey was conducted online and results are self-reported. Because respondents are drawn from HeyGen's user community, findings reflect the behaviors and experiences of this group rather than small business owners broadly.

ABOUT HEYGEN
HeyGen is the world's leading AI avatar company. We create the world's most realistic avatars — digital versions of real people that look, sound, and move just like them. Rated #1 most realistic on G2 and powered by our proprietary Avatar V model, HeyGen is used by over 30 million people, from solo and small-business operators to 85% of the Fortune 100, to scale their presence in minutes, without a camera or crew. HeyGen brings avatars to life across video, real-time interactive experiences, and voice.

SOURCE HeyGen