AI Is Now the Top Reason for Layoffs. For Some Workers, It’s Also a Path to Starting a Business.

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Key Takeaways

AI is the leading reason U.S. employers have given for layoffs in 2026, cited in about 21% of announced job cuts.
Laid-off workers can combine industry experience with AI tools to launch low-cost businesses, but customer relationships still depend on the human touch.

In the pursuit of greater productivity and profit, companies see AI as a glow on the horizon. For many workers, however, the AI revolution has already arrived in the form of a pink slip.

In January, Amazon announced nearly 16,000 job cuts to reduce organizational layers and bureaucracy. CEO Andy Jassy had previously predicted that generative AI and agents would mean fewer people doing some existing jobs. Meta soon followed with plans to eliminate about 8,000 positions, close to 10% of its workforce, in pursuit of greater efficiency while directing more resources toward AI. Financial technology company Block announced more than 4,000 cuts, nearly half of its workforce, as CEO Jack Dorsey explained that intelligence tools, combined with smaller and flatter teams, are changing how companies operate.

These tech heavyweights are hardly alone. Reuters has tracked AI-linked cuts or restructuring at companies ranging from Allianz and Nike to Telstra and British American Tobacco. In its monthly Challenger Report, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas attributed 7% of U.S. layoffs announced in January to AI. By the end of September, AI had been cited in more than 120,000 announced job cuts in 2026, about 21% of the total, making it the leading reason for layoffs so far this year.

Some of those workers will find another job or retire early. But if the data points to a trend, others may be turning lemons into lemonade through entrepreneurship.

Struck out? Strike out on your own

New business formation has been unusually strong this year, with nearly every month setting a record compared with the same month in previous years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, business formation statistics, nearly 4.2 million business applications were filed nationwide in the first eight months of 2026, up about 17% from the same period in 2025.

On their own, these numbers don’t prove that AI, layoffs or both are driving the surge. Business creation rises and falls for many reasons, as it did during the pandemic, and not every new registration becomes an operating company.

Still, the convergence turns heads. Even as large employers aim to accomplish more with smaller teams, backed by the muscle of AI, workers have access to many of the same productivity tools. In their hands, those tools offer a supercharged way to combine specialized knowledge, an idea for a product or service that solves a problem or fills a niche and a passion for bringing it to market.

Prepare for the AI-driven workplace

Not everyone affected by layoffs is being replaced by an AI agent. Companies cut jobs for many reasons, including industry pressures and narrowing margins. But AI is putting its thumb on the scale. Amazon, Meta and Block have all announced major reductions as they embrace AI, though each has described its role differently: Amazon emphasized cutting layers and bureaucracy, Meta pointed to shifting resources toward AI, and Block said AI-enabled productivity calls for a smaller workforce.

Rather than curse AI for eroding jobs, aspiring entrepreneurs should embrace what it can do for them. The same technology that helps a large corporation accomplish more with fewer employees can help a one-person venture tackle tasks that once required an entire team. AI can help research markets, develop business plans, create marketing materials, handle basic customer inquiries and automate routine administrative work.

When you’re getting a new business off the ground, every task you can handle without adding fixed payroll lowers the revenue your business needs to survive its lean years. Just as the internet and smartphones transformed business a generation ago, AI can transform yours.

Put your experience to work

A layoff can make years, or even decades, spent building a career at one company feel suddenly devalued. For a would-be entrepreneur, however, that hard-won experience may be the most valuable asset.

Let’s be honest: Employees know their industry’s problems because they’ve lived with them. They know what customers complain about, which processes waste time, which services cost too much and where existing products fall short. Unless you’re set on doing something completely different, like leaving a civil engineering job to open a scrapbooking shop, you have an opportunity to analyze those issues and, free of corporate baggage, create real solutions.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. A specialized consulting practice, service business or niche product that addresses a problem you already understand may offer a natural, inexpensive path to entrepreneurship.

Use AI to lower the cost of launching

One of AI’s biggest benefits for new entrepreneurs is the ability to test an idea before making a major financial commitment. You may not need to lease an office, hire employees or buy expensive technology right away.

Start with a small, workable version of your idea. Interview potential customers. Build a basic website. Test different pricing structures and marketing offers. Use AI for research and routine work, but bring in human experts when needed. Spending doesn’t make you a successful entrepreneur — revenue does. And revenue validates a business idea better than a glitzy launch party or a wood-paneled office.

If you’re leaving salaried employment, protecting your personal cash matters too, even if you received a generous severance package. Add up your household expenses alongside your business costs, and know your full runway before taking on serious financial risk.

Keep it human

AI may be eliminating jobs — it may have eliminated yours. Entrepreneurs can use these tools to keep startup costs low, including labor costs. But don’t take that as a sign to cut people out of the picture.

The surge in new businesses may partly reflect corporate America devaluing human work and putting profits ahead of people. As layoffs continue to reshape the workforce, traditional employment may keep shrinking while the ranks of people who recognize the value of their own expertise grow.

Building a business means building a trustworthy brand, and that requires human interaction. AI can create content, analyze data and automate repetitive tasks, saving time and money. Where it falls short is in building person-to-person relationships. For entrepreneurs, AI’s role is to free you up to apply your expertise, judgment and creativity. After all, those uniquely human traits are what will help you connect with customers and establish your brand.

Effective product pages help online shoppers decide whether an item fits their needs and what buying it involves. A beautiful photograph gets attention. Product details such as dimensions, available sizes, delivery details, and a clear price help turn that attention into a purchase.

Even established retailers miss these basics. In its benchmark of leading U.S. and European retailers, updated in March 2026, Baymard Institute rated 52% of desktop sites and 62% of mobile sites “mediocre or worse” for product-page usability¹.

Product-page changes can affect revenue, too. In a 27-day test for Life Pro Fitness, agency Media Contour made product images, key details, and buying buttons visible without needing to scroll. Testing vendor Wingify reported that the revised page generated $0.67 more revenue per visitor than the original².

If you are building a new store, follow the five tips below as you create your product pages. Have those pages ready before running ads that send shoppers to them.

If you already have an online store, choose one product page to improve. Reference these steps to check whether it answers shoppers’ questions and lets them add the right item to their cart.

1. Answer shoppers’ questions in the product description

Identify the main question a shopper needs answered before buying. Look for questions customers ask repeatedly or misunderstandings behind returns. For a new product, start with fit, compatibility, or what is included. Confirm the answer against your product specifications, then put it near the start of the description.

For example, consider a pet-supply retailer selling a dog harness. Someone choosing their first harness needs measurements and adjustment details to judge the fit. Someone replacing a harness they already own needs to recognize the same model and size. The page should make both tasks straightforward.

Also, use consistent labels and units across similar products to make comparisons easier. Include limitations, such as incompatible models or items sold separately, so shoppers can rule out an unsuitable purchase.

In e-commerce platform BigCommerce, for instance, online sellers can use the product description and custom fields—additional facts such as material or compatibility—to present these details. Preview the product page to check that shoppers can find the information they need.

Then, use those same facts to help shoppers recognize the item in search results. In BigCommerce’s page title field, use the product name and a relevant detail, such as its model or material. Avoid repeating keywords or giving every product the same title.

2. Give every product image a question to answer

Plan your gallery around what someone needs to inspect. Show the whole product, a useful detail, and the product in use. For example, a lighting retailer could photograph a lamp beside a chair to show its scale and how it lights a reading space. A close-up of the switch shows how someone would operate it. Together, these images help shoppers picture using the lamp at home. Keep written dimensions available as well.

The same Baymard overview describes how shoppers use images to judge size and can struggle when photographs lack a familiar reference.

If you sell a bundle, make clear which pictured items are included. For products that need assembly or demonstration, you might even consider creating a short video. Add alt text: a short description of the useful information in an image. Screen-reader software can read that description aloud or present it in braille. Keep essential instructions available as text as well.

BigCommerce supports product images, images for variants such as different colors, and YouTube-hosted product videos. Check that your gallery presents the right item as shoppers change their selection.

3. Make choices, prices, and recurring charges clear

Keep size, color, quantity, and purchase options close to the buying button. Label them plainly, show the current selection, and make unavailable choices recognizable. If the size options fit on the screen, show them as labeled buttons, such as S, M, and L. This lets shoppers see which sizes are available without opening a menu, as the Baymard overview explains.

Place helpful links beside the choice it explains. For the dog harness, for example, consider putting a measurement guide beside the size selector so shoppers can check the fit before choosing. Keep it visible or provide a clearly labeled link that works by touch and keyboard.

In BigCommerce, online sellers can configure choices such as size and color through product variants and options. Then check that the displayed price and availability match the shopper’s selection. For multipacks, show both the pack total and the unit price. Make the full pack price easy to find so shoppers know what they will be charged.

If you offer subscriptions, let shoppers explicitly choose between a one-time purchase and a recurring order. Put the recurring charge, delivery frequency, and change or cancellation terms beside that choice so shoppers can compare the commitments before selecting. Confirm that these terms match how your subscription service works. Select a subscription yourself and verify that checkout shows the plan, price, and frequency you chose.

4. Make sure delivery, returns, and reviews are easy to find

A shopper who needs an item by a particular date wants to know whether it will arrive in time. Show a delivery estimate for their destination. Put a short explanation of shipping and returns near add to cart, with links to the full policies.

Show shipping fees or explain how they will be calculated. Clearly describe return windows, fees, and exclusions that matter for the item. If pickup is offered, distinguish stock at the selected location from stock elsewhere. Avoid presenting an estimate as a confirmed promise.

Also consider making reassurances that are specific to the purchase. Using the dog harness as an example again, you’d want to explain whether a shopper can exchange it if the fit is wrong and which conditions apply. That answers the practical concerns that a badge saying “Shop with Confidence” leaves unresolved. Use only promises your business can honor.

Customer reviews provide another way to assess the product. Show the review rating, text, reviewer’s display name, and date on the relevant product page. If reviews come from another service, name that service. These details help shoppers understand whose experience they are reading and how recent it is.

5. Test the path from product page to cart

Shoppers need to know that the page has registered their choices and whether adding an item succeeded. Open your chosen product page on your phone. If a required option starts unselected, try adding the item before choosing it. The page should tell you what to select or explain why “Add to cart” is unavailable.

If the product has options, choose them, then change one selection. Check that the price, availability, and any option-specific images match. Add the item. While the request is processing, the page should make that clear. Once it succeeds, a confirmation or the cart itself should show what was added. If an error occurs, it should explain how to continue without losing other selections.

From there, make sure to check the item’s quantity, options, and price in the cart. If you chose a size or color, return to the product page and check whether it still shows that selection. These checks help catch a wrong selection or an uncertain result before a shopper encounters it.

Shoppers who cannot use a mouse need to select options and add products using a keyboard. To check that they can, repeat the steps above on a computer without the mouse. Use Tab to move forward between controls and Shift+Tab to move back. A visible outline or other marker should show which control you are about to use. Press Enter to activate links and Enter or Space for buttons. In a drop-down list, such as a size selector, use the arrow keys to move through the options.

Shoppers who need larger text must still be able to read product details and reach Add to cart. Use the browser’s Zoom control to enlarge the page to 200% and try the same steps again. Check for overlapping text or controls that disappear. Across all these checks, record anything that prevents choosing the product, adding it, or correcting a mistake.

Keep improving one page at a time

Clear facts and images help shoppers judge the product; clear choices, terms, and working controls help them act on that decision. Choose one issue from your review to fix first. Give priority to a problem that prevents adding the correct item to the cart. If shoppers can add the correct item, address an unanswered question that could lead someone to buy the wrong product.

Record what you changed and when. If you have sales reports, compare purchases and revenue for the product over equal periods before and after the change. Note any promotions or changes in visitor numbers that could also explain the results. Customer questions, order corrections, and return reasons can help you check whether the same misunderstanding persists.

For more examples, explore BigCommerce’s product-page guide, then apply the same review to the next product page.

¹^{Product Page UX 2026: 10 Pitfalls and Best Practices}^{(Baymard Institute)
2}^{Media Contour uses split URL testing to improve the revenue from product pages}^(Wingify)