AI for Main Street Act

The bill would amend the Small Business Act to add a new duty for Small Business Development Centers: helping small businesses evaluate artificial intelligence as it relates to their operations. This would include providing information, guidance, and training on best practices for using artificial intelligence, using it to plan for unexpected circumstances, protecting data and intellectual property, improving cybersecurity, facilitating regulatory compliance, improving customer trust, and incorporating artificial intelligence into business operations. Centers would also conduct outreach to small businesses on AI use where practical. The bill also adds a definition of "artificial intelligence" to the Small Business Act, cross-referencing the definition used in the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020. The bill states that no additional funds are authorized to carry out this Act, meaning the new duties would have to be absorbed within existing Small Business Development Center resources.

Small Business Development Centers, which are federally supported counseling and training organizations, and the small business owners who use their services. The Small Business Administration, which oversees these centers, would also be affected as the agency implementing the amended statute.

Small businesses seeking help navigating AI tools would gain access to formal guidance and training through an existing, trusted counseling network rather than having to find private consultants. Because no new funding is authorized, the practical reach of this assistance depends on centers redirecting existing staff time and resources.

Small Business Development Centers, which operate under Small Business Administration oversight, would incorporate the new AI-assistance duty into their existing counseling, training, and outreach activities. Because the bill authorizes no additional funding, centers would need to fold AI guidance and training into current budgets and staff capacity rather than through a new grant cycle or dedicated appropriation. There is no new reporting requirement or enforcement mechanism specified beyond the statutory duty itself.