WEALTH September 27, 2026 0 Comments

Unlocking the AI Goldmine: How Small Businesses Are Turning Hype into Hard Cash and Beating the Competition Blindfolded!

Here’s a head-scratcher for you — three out of four Irish and UK SMEs are betting big on artificial intelligence to fuel their long-term growth, yet only a measly one in ten have actually woven AI into the fabric of their organizations. Kind of like owning a Ferrari but never taking it out for a spin, right? This glaring disconnect between belief and execution isn’t just surprising, it’s downright puzzling. Growth investor BGF, teaming up with Beauhurst, peeled back the layers on this very conundrum in their eye-opening Unlocking Value from AI report. Based on insights from 285 sharp CEOs, MDs, and CTOs from thriving businesses across Ireland and Britain, the research lays bare the enthusiasm, the hang-ups, and the reality check SMEs face in turning AI dreams into gold. Want to know why the confidence in AI’s promise isn’t matching up with rollout at scale — and what’s standing in the way of flipping that script? Stick around. LEARN MORE

Three quarters (75%) of Irish and UK SMEs believe artificial intelligence will be important to their long-term growth, but only one in 10 have fully integrated AI across their organisation.

Research from growth investor BGF points to a widening gap among growth businesses between confidence in AI’s potential and their ability to deploy it at scale.

BGF’s Unlocking Value from AI report, produced in collaboration with Beauhurst, highlights how SMEs are approaching AI, the barriers preventing adoption and the steps management teams are taking to turn experimentation into measurable commercial value.

The report is based on a survey of 285 leaders (CEOs, MDs, CPOs and CTOs) at Irish and British businesses with 50-500 employees and annual turnover of £5m-50m, conducted for BGF by Censuswide.

Seven in 10 (71%) businesses consider AI important to their business today, rising to 75% when asked about the importance to long-term growth.

Some 84% of leaders said they have become more optimistic about, or more trusting of, AI over the past 12 months.

About 13% are actively scaling proven use cases, but many others remain stuck in the exploration (17%) or prototyping and piloting (15%) phase, while 21% have at least one use case in production.

While 38% of leaders pointed to security constraints, an AI skills or capability gap (40%), employee adoption (37%) and change management (37%) were the other most identified barriers.

Demonstrating commercial value is another challenge, with just 6% saying they can measure AI return on investment with confidence, while 34% cite uncertainty around ROI as a barrier to adoption.

This is driving significant demand for practical support. Some 83% of leaders believe access to an external AI adviser would be beneficial, yet fewer than 1% currently have one.

In contrast to the clear ambition to harness AI, more than half (56%) of SME leaders perceive it as a threat. Leaders’ concerns were spread across poor decision-making by AI (40%), regulatory exposure (39%), vendor over-reliance (36%), loss of customer trust (35%) and talent displacement (34%).

Almost two-thirds (64%) of businesses already have a responsible AI policy in place, with a further 31% developing one. Meanwhile, 64% have appointed a senior leader responsible for AI strategy.

Businesses also recognise the need to build the skills and capabilities required to deploy AI effectively at scale, which is reflected in the support leaders say would help accelerate adoption.

Peer-to-peer learning from other businesses ranks highest (47%), followed by capital investment (44%), shared tools and resources (43%) and access to practical expertise (43%).

“The debate is largely finished about whether AI matters strategically, but a gap remains between ambition and integration,” said Leo Casey, head of Ireland at BGF.

“The barriers are not necessarily technical – AI tools are accessible, the models are capable, and the obstacles to getting started have never been lower. Many businesses are held back by organisational and cultural issues.

“Regional business leaders recognise that the foundations of resilient growth increasingly mean AI and the data that underpins it. But our conversations with portfolio companies are evolving – from evaluating AI as an emerging technology, to harnessing it as a strategic value driver.

“While confidence in AI has rarely been higher, implementation at scale remains the exception.

“The focus now is on helping businesses to translate intent into impactful and sustainable delivery, which we are supporting through our in-house AI team that sits within BGF’s Value Creation offering.”