HeyGen survey finds 72% of small business respondents shelved a video

In a press release, HeyGen says 71.6% of surveyed small business owners and solopreneurs had recorded a business video but decided not to post it. The August 2026 survey covered more than 1,000 respondents across over 40 countries.

Women were more likely than men to shelve completed videos, at 76.6% compared with 69.6%. They also described appearing on camera as draining at a higher rate, at 43.6% compared with 28.4% for men.

AI avatar video adoption reached 78.4% among financial services respondents and 77.3% among legal professionals. Among respondents who had not used the technology, 50.7% cited concerns that avatars would look fake. Of those using AI avatar video, 71.1% reported significant time savings, 55.3% said they could post more often, and 17.6% reported gaining leads or business they otherwise would not have won.

The results were self reported and drawn from HeyGen's global user community at companies with fewer than 100 employees. They do not represent small business owners broadly.