One question I hear constantly from small business owners is: “How much is AI actually going to cost me?” The honest answer? Probably less than you think. But the real question should be: “Am I spending money in the right places?”

Here’s the reality most people won’t tell you. The biggest cost of AI integration isn’t the technology. According to HP’s recent survey of Australian small businesses, only 15% say they lack budget for AI tools. The real barriers? Skills and mindset readiness (53%), complexity and integration challenges (44%), and finding tools that actually fit their needs (54%). In other words, most businesses aren’t struggling to afford AI. They’re struggling to adopt it properly.

The Real Cost Categories

Most small businesses can get access to fantastic AI tools for under $100 per month in software subscriptions. Most AI platforms such as Microsoft CoPilot, ChatGPT, Claude and Canva have free versions you can use. If you need to expand your usage, you are looking at anywhere between $15 to $50 per month per platform which in the grand scheme of things is totally worth it for the value it brings.

The trap? Signing up for six different AI tools because they each promise something slightly different. Pick three that solve your actual problems and ignore the rest. Also be careful of what plans you sign up for. I’ve seen businesses waste money on enterprise-level tools when starter plans would do. I’ve seen sole traders paying for software designed for companies with 500 employees. Start with free tiers. Graduate when you hit genuine limits, not imagined ones.

I would also recommend setting up a spreadsheet so you can track what you have actually subscribed to. If you have a team, set up an AI email everyone can access, that you can use for subscriptions. This means you don’t waste money on multiple accounts, especially when you are testing new platforms.

Hardware is where things get tricky. If you have the wrong tech, i.e. an old laptop (over 4 years old) using AI can actually become inefficient because your tools can’t handle the horsepower required to run the latest programs. I had a laptop that was around 5 years old and kept crashing whenever I tried to use multiple AI programs. The constant restarting was not only frustrating but it cost me valuable time. Since I upgraded, I have been able to 10X my daily output with ease.

Now the tech industry loves telling you that you need the latest AI-ready device with specialised chips. But here’s what HP’s research revealed: 4 in 5 SMBs don’t fully understand what AI PCs actually do. If you’re a design agency running complex image generation locally, sure, invest in processing power. But if you’re using cloud-based AI tools? Your current laptop might be fine. The rule of thumb: if your AI runs in a browser, you don’t need new hardware. Once business owners actually understand AI PC capabilities, they’re more than twice as likely to see the value in upgrading. Education first, purchase second.

Training is the cost most businesses forget to budget entirely. With 57% of SMBs struggling with tech adoption and integration, this isn’t surprising. Budget time for your team to learn proper prompting, workflow integration, and troubleshooting. Also encourage them to spend at least 30 minutes a week trying and testing new AI tools and features. That time investment compounds. Skip it, and you’ll join the majority who buy tools they never properly use.

Making Smarter Decisions

What do SMBs actually want from AI? HP’s survey found the top motivators are refreshingly practical: affordable to implement (42%), easy to set up (41%), and guaranteed data privacy and security (37%). That’s not asking for miracles. That’s asking for tools that respect the reality of running a small business.

Match your tech to that reality. A boutique retailer doesn’t need the same setup as a professional services firm. Start with one problem AI could genuinely solve. Master that- then expand.

Here’s what makes this worth the effort: enterprise AI users report not just productivity gains, but improved work-life balance (69%) and reduced stress and burnout (68%). For time-poor business owners, that’s the real ROI.

If you want practical, jargon-free guidance on navigating how AI can help your business, the Byte Size podcast, which I co-host with Dr Matt Agnew, covers exactly these questions. We speak with real Australian SMBs about what’s actually working, what hardware you need (and don’t), and how to avoid the costly mistakes everyone makes.

The bottom line: AI doesn’t have to be expensive. But it will be if you don’t know where your money should actually go.

Contributed by Lisa Teh, Founder and Director of CODI Agency

This week At CES 2026, HP Inc. debuted new technologies that position personal fulfilment as the next frontier for driving the Future of Work.

Australian knowledge workers are feeling the pressure with just 14% having a healthy relationship with work. But given the right tools and technology, the likelihood of workers having a healthy work relationship more than doubles – and increases five-fold when the workforce sees their company investing in them.[i] In an era marked by disruption and change, HP recognises a growing fulfilment deficit in the workforce and is committed to empowering organisations to transform this challenge into an opportunity for innovation and resilience.

Innovations Designed for the Future of Work

As businesses navigate unprecedented challenges, HP remains steadfast in its commitment to pioneering solutions that foster fulfilment and accelerate growth, ensuring that the future of work is both human-centered and technology-driven.

New products and solutions include:

• Designing for the future of work means creating solutions that move, connect, and adapt to any workspace. HP’s newest form factor, the HP EliteBoard G1a, is the world’s first full AI PC built into a keyboard [ii] and a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree.
• Built for leaders shaping the future of work, HP introduced its HP EliteBook X G2 Series, the next generation of premium business laptops built for the AI era and a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree.
• Bringing passion-ready experiences so consumers can work smarter, look sharper, and lead better, HP unveiled new updates to the full HP OmniBook consumer portfolio – including the new HP OmniBook Ultra 14 and HP OmniStudioX.
• Delivering AI-powered productivity right at the printer, HP introduced the first integration of Microsoft Copilot into HP Office Print devices with HP for Microsoft 365 Copilot, providing document summarisation, translation, and smart organisation to help businesses work faster, smarter, and more securely.
• Keep hybrid work running smoothly and strengthen IT’s ability to maintain business continuity across distributed environments with enhancements to the company’s Workforce Experience Platform (WXP) employee device management features.
• Pair your new HP PC with intuitive, ergonomic, and sustainable peripherals for every workspace, including a stylish pink version of the HP Tilt Ergonomic Mouse 720M, a new compact USB-C HP 65W GaN Wall Charger, lightweight and durable HP Protective Series laptop sleeves, and more.
• When it’s time to clock out, get your game on. HP is redefining how gamers play, create, and perform, unifying its OMEN and HyperX brands under one master gaming brand – HyperX – and engineering the world’s most powerful gaming laptop with fully internal cooling,[iii] the HyperX OMEN MAX 16.
• To understand your PC’s origin story, HP developed HP Digital Passport, a CES 2026 Innovation Award Honoree, giving customers one place to access PC essentials: from getting started, discovering unique product features and their device’s sustainability story, to finding support options as their needs evolve.

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As Australians return to work in 2026, burnout specialist and founder of The Big Refresh, Nick Orchard, says it’s time to scrap the resolutions. Instead, he’s urging professionals to install ‘burnout blockers’ – simple, preventative systems to protect against rising stress and exhaustion.

The advice comes as burnout hits crisis levels. In 2025, Bupa reported 70% of working Australians experienced burnout. The 2025 TELUS Mental Health Barometer found 41% were under constant stress, and more than one-third at high mental health risk. 

“Burnout doesn’t hit us like a truck. It’s an insidious creep that takes hold slowly over time,” says Orchard. “It begins to shape how we perceive ourselves, our work, the people around us, our ability and our worth.”

With the cost to Australian businesses estimated at $14 billion, Orchard says most workplace wellness efforts miss the mark by focusing on recovery rather than prevention, addressing the problem only after the damage is done.

In 2020, while in a senior government role, Orchard experienced a near-fatal burnout episode – waking behind the wheel at 130km/h on the wrong side of the road with no memory of how he got there. That crisis led to the creation of The Big Refresh, an evidence-based coaching program now used by executives, creatives and leaders across Australia.

The early warning signs of burnout

According to Orchard, burnout starts well before exhaustion with subtle shifts that many professionals ignore:

• Needing praise to feel competent 
• Imposter syndrome or fear of failure driving decisions
• Information overload making simple tasks hard
• Struggling to get out of bed in the morning
• Relying on caffeine and sugar to fuel the day
• Skipping restorative habits like sleep, nutrition, exercise, journaling and socialising 
• Taking on too much because delegating feels mentally harder
• Growing cynicism and detachment about work that once energised you
• ‘Sunday scaries’ starting earlier and lasting longer 
• Staying busy but achieving less – productivity theatre. 

“In this age of likes, instant feedback and being ‘always on’, we can get hooked on external validation to prove our worth. Like we’re sunflowers, basking in the glow of praise. But when the clouds come, we droop. We’ve forgotten how to nourish ourselves from the inside,” Orchard explains.

Instead of pressure-filled resolutions, Orchard advocates for ‘burnout blockers’, simple systems that build boundaries and protect energy:

1. Boundary rituals: End your work day with a clear signal – a walk, shower or outfit change. Shut devices off. Silence work email notifications after hours. 
2. The Daily Win: Break larger tasks down into small one to two-hour tasks with a clear start and finish, so you finish what you start and build momentum. 
3. Focusing on what’s in your control: Write two lists: what’s within your control and what’s not. Now, throw the ‘out of control’ list in the bin, and focus exclusively on things within your control for the week to come.
4. Broccoli time: Invest 15–30 minutes each morning in your most avoided but important task – like strategy, budgeting or a difficult email. Then no matter where the day takes you, you’ve already ‘won the day’ before it’s even begun.
5. Hard conversation habit: It’s the hard or uncomfortable conversations we avoid, the ones about boundaries, relationships, or expectations, that bite us down the track. Build the habit of “just saying the thing” in the moment so it doesn’t fester.
6. Circuit breakers in routines: Schedule micro-breaks to interrupt long stretches of intensity. Take a 10-minute walk between meetings. Set a hard stop time in the evening.

“Just like sunscreen protects us from getting burned, burnout blockers shield us from burnout. 2026 can be the year of high performance, sustainability, wellbeing and joy, with just a few minor shifts to your daily practice,” says Orchard.

As professionals gear up for the year ahead, Orchard is calling for a fundamental shift. The industry has normalised exhaustion as the price of success, but burnout isn’t a badge of honour – it’s a warning sign that’s been ignored for too long. Prevention, he insists, doesn’t require massive lifestyle overhauls. It just requires paying attention to the early signs and acting on them.