# Small business owners ditch web developers for AI

> Fifty-three percent of entrepreneurs now use AI to build websites, saving time and money while freelance coding jobs collapse.
- Title: Small business owners ditch web developers for AI · TechRadar
- Summary: Fifty-three percent of entrepreneurs now use AI to build websites, saving time and money while freelance coding jobs collapse. More than half of American…
- Keywords: artificial intelligence, website development, small business, freelance work, job displacement, ai tools, entrepreneurship, technology, Small, business, owners, ditch
- Source: TechRadar — https://techradar.com/pro/the-collapse-of-web-coding-gigs-is-getting-ugly-ai-takes-over-routine-website-development-jobs-and-business-owners-are-very-happy-with-its-job-so-far
- Published: 2026-10-16T23:25:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: artificial intelligence, website development, small business, freelance work, job displacement, ai tools, entrepreneurship, technology
## AI website builders gain ground
Research commissioned by Bluehost found that fifty-three percent of surveyed business owners had adopted AI website builders rather than relying on professional developers.
## Entrepreneurs report major savings
Among respondents adopting AI website generators, participants reported average savings of eight hundred fifty dollars and approximately thirty-two working hours compared with commissioning developers.
## Freelance job postings plummet
Website design advertisements declined fifty-nine percent between the second quarter of twenty twenty-four and the third quarter of twenty twenty-six on Freelancer.com.
## Other coding roles hit hard
PHP opportunities experienced an identical fifty-nine percent reduction, while WordPress assignments decreased fifty-eight percent, followed by HTML programming vacancies with a fifty-five percent decline.
## Business owners embrace AI sites
Seventy-two percent of business owners expressed strong approval of their AI-generated websites, with ninety-seven percent reporting at least moderate satisfaction with the results.
## Most still review AI output
Just nine percent published their websites without modifying the initial AI output. Sixty-one percent undertook content revisions and sixty percent modified visual elements before going live.
## AI use extends beyond launch
Following publication, ninety-four percent continued employing AI technologies for business activities. Thirty-four percent reported increased visitor numbers and thirty-one percent experienced improvements in sales or revenue.
## Key takeaway

More than half of American business owners now use AI website builders instead of hiring developers, causing freelance web design jobs to fall fifty-nine percent since early twenty twenty-four.