Unlocking Growth with AI
A Playbook for Small Business Success
“We are going to see 10 person companies with $billion valuations pretty soon”
These are the words of Sam Altman Open AI co-founder. You’ve got to be pretty hard nosed if you don’t think Sam has a grandstand seat and an educated opinion on the future of work, so he’s not going to be off the mark with this. Allegedly he’s got a bet on … not if it will happen, but when it will happen.
We at informed.ai are with you Sam. We are here to help businesses on that journey.
Depending on who’s figures you take – there are approx 5.6m SMEs in the UK, that’s 99.8% of all businesses in the UK - contributing 52% of private sector turnover. (optional ….0-9 employees approx, 5.4m, 10-49 employees approx 200,000). In 2024 SMEs employed 16.6m people - 60% of total private sector employment.
With such numbers, it is accepted that SMEs are the powerhouse of the UK economy, contributing financially, creatively, culturally and locally. They are often embedded in local communities contributing to economic vibrancy. Bravo to all those have the mettle to follow their vision, run their own business… do it their way.
With AI, the opportunities for SMEs are now vast.
Big is not always beautiful. Harnessing the power of AI, being ‘small’ is now no longer a negative. AI can help you and your business level the playing – to compete anywhere against anyone.
But there is a conundrum for SME leaders. There is a digital divide happening right now. SMEs are increasingly being left behind in the AI revolution due to a mix of financial, technical, and cultural barriers. High implementation costs and limited budgets make AI adoption seem risky without guaranteed returns, while a widespread lack of in-house expertise forces SMEs to rely on costly external support. Many business owners are also skeptical, citing unclear use cases and fears around data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. Compounding these issues is a cultural resistance to change, especially among older leadership, and the daily pressures of running a business that leaves little time for innovation. Too often we see leaders ‘busy working in their business rather than working on their business’. Sound familiar ?
As a result, over half of SMEs in regions like the UK are not using AI at all, with many having no plans to start. Widening the digital divide puts them at risk of falling behind more tech-savvy competitors, when the opposite should be the case – taking the game to bigger, more dominant competitors.
AI is not the preserve of big enterprise businesses. Sure, they have a bit of a short term advantage. The immediate benefits of AI – reducing costly, repetitive tasks, increasing operational efficiencies and freeing up casts of hundreds to do more valuable fulfilling work (albeit, that’s not happened much yet) is more obvious for those with large workforces. And they’ll have an IT dept to help, but don’t be worried by that. IT depts do a different job, creating and implemnetng Ai is not always in their skill mix.
The SME AI value proposition is different. It’s a quantum bigger and better. AI agents are revolutionizing growth potential for SMEs by automating complex tasks, enhancing customer engagement, and unlocking data-driven decision-making previously accessible only to large corporations. These intelligent systems streamline operations—from marketing and sales to customer service and inventory management—reducing costs and increasing efficiency. By providing personalized customer experiences and real-time insights, AI agents will empower SMEs to compete at scale, adapt quickly to market trends, and explore new revenue streams with minimal overhead. This democratization of advanced technology is leveling the playing field and enabling unprecedented growth opportunities for SMEs. We are seeing more capable AI agent platforms being produced, we are even working on our own version (much more on this coming soon).
Your business will benefit from the best skills you need but don’t have or cant afford. You and your team can be superhuman workers. Masters, not jack of all trades.
And that’s not all. As you grow, agents and co-pilots will help co-ordinate and manage all the internal organisation and support – HR, Finance, Legal, compliance and regulatory. All at a fraction of the cost, on a variable cost model, rather that ramp up fixed operational overheads.
AI will help you fulfil the vision you have for your business. The ‘why, you set out on your own’ in the first place.
It’s you that Sam is placing his bet on !
Too good to be true?
It’s certainly a once in a generation game changing opportunity. But there is devil in the detail. Big tech will say implementing AI is easy, but they are not interested in the SME market. You don’t sign the $500,000 service agreements they want. So beware of off the shelf packages – they are rarely nuanced enough for the unique nature of you, your business, your market and your customers. Vendor selection and who to partner with on technology, will be key. You’ll need to not only adopt but also adapt.
This is where Informed.ai comes in. Founder and AI Prof Andy Pardoe is planning to deliver an ‘informing and implementing an AI strategy’ webinar, specifically for SME businesses. This will provide you with a basic playbook of how to start your AI adoption journey
If you’d like to hear more about that and be part of it, please register for the webinar and we’ll be in touch !
How ready is your business for AI ? – fill in our readiness score card http://AIStrategyScoreCard.com and follow us at informed.ai for more updates.
https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/entrepreneurs/article/reboot-digital-policies-to-make-all-smes-tech-savvy-by-2030-nlppblszd
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/12/small-businesses-ai