Hon Scott Simpson
Minister of Statistics

The launch of the Survey of Business Operations, a new national survey, will provide a comprehensive, uptodate picture of how NewZealand businesses use Artificial Intelligence and respond to economic and technology changes, Minister of Statistics Scott Simpson says.

“Good decisions rely on quality data. This survey will give us a clearer understanding of how businesses across the economy are operating, the challenges they face, and where opportunities for growth and productivity lie.”

The new survey builds on existing business data gathered by Stats NZ, retaining core questions to ensure comparability over time. It introduces new content in areas where information gaps have emerged. This includes questions on innovation, business practices, and the uptake of AI.

Insights from the survey would shape Government policy to support businesses to grow and innovate, Mr Simpson says.

“For the first time, we will be able to measure AI use across a large and representative sample of NewZealand firms. This will help us understand where adoption is occurring, where barriers remain, and what this means for the wider economy.

“Artificial Intelligence represents one of the biggest opportunities of our time and we want businesses to invest in this technology with confidence. Smarter, informed adoption and use of advanced technologies like AI will help New Zealand’s economy grow faster and enable better living standards and opportunities for all New Zealanders.”

Around 20,000 businesses with six or more employees across all sectors will be surveyed, making it one of the largest and most detailed business surveys undertaken in NewZealand.

Notes:

• The survey is being delivered jointly by StatsNZ and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, working with Ipsos.
• Data collection is scheduled to begin mid-May, with invitations sent to selected businesses in early May and fieldwork expected to run through May and June 2026.
• The survey is being run as a oneoff collection to address priority information needs. It will provide a shared evidence base across government, reducing the need for multiple smaller surveys.
• Businesses selected to take part are legally required to respond, helping ensure the results are robust and representative.
• StatsNZ will apply its standard confidentiality protections, and no information identifying individual businesses will be released.
• The survey findings will be released later in the year.

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