The AI Innovation & Policy Coalition for Main Street Businesses is a cross-sector initiative designed to ensure that artificial intelligence strengthens economic opportunity, resilience, and competitiveness for America’s smallest businesses. 

AI technology adoption is accelerating among large financial institutions, Wall Street-backed companies, and national chains and franchises that already have the data, capital, and policy influence to move fast. Main Street small businesses, without the resources to deploy AI into their operations, are being left behind, and policymakers are still in the early stages of defining the rules of the road. To close this gap, the Coalition brings together small business advocates, lenders, technology leaders, and policy experts to advance practical, responsible AI innovation and policy initiatives grounded in real-world Main Street needs. 

Purpose and Objectives

The AI Innovation & Policy Coalition for Main Street Businesses is structured around several core objectives: 

Support Main Street and Microbusinesses in the AI Era
Improve access to AI for retail, hospitality, service, and other community-based enterprises by providing free resources, including an AI-enabled business health assessment, coaching, and playbooks that help owners apply AI to compete and achieve sustainable growth.   

Shape Practical, Pro-Innovation AI policy 
Educate policymakers by providing policy guidance and convening stakeholder briefings that replace fear-based narratives with real-world Main Street use cases, constraints, and risks.

Build Shared Data Infrastructure 
Convene key stakeholders across the small business ecosystem to encourage collaboration, define shared data frameworks, and promote responsible data governance that safely unlocks AI-powered tools for Main Street business owners and AI-driven insights for economic development stakeholders.

Protect Small Businesses From AI-enabled Harms 
Reduce cybersecurity risks, fraud, and data misuse by providing proactive guidance and practical, resilience-focused safeguards tailored to the realities of small businesses.

AEO will serve as a neutral convener, ensuring the Coalition remains mission-driven, education-focused, and not dominated by any single technology or platform. Industry participation is aligned to shared outcomes and real policy deliverables, offering a constructive pathway for engagement that supports both innovation and public trust.