Artificial intelligence (AI) represents one of the greatest opportunities to boost productivity, innovation, and growth across the UK economy, but for many Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), the path to adoption remains complex.
A new report from the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) and Digital Catapult, AI Adoption: Unlocking Growth Potential for Small Businesses, explores how AI can transform the way businesses operate, and the barriers currently standing in the way.
Drawing on insights from national programmes such as Innovate UK’s BridgeAI and the Hartree Centre North East Hub, the report highlights the tangible benefits of AI adoption, from driving efficiency and reducing costs, to creating entirely new business models.
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AI Potential For SMEs
While many SMEs recognise the potential of utilising AI, challenges such as cost, skill shortages, regulatory uncertainty, and limited access to trusted advice continue to slow progress. The report features inspiring case studies from sectors including energy, environmental compliance, and fashion resale, showing how businesses are already leveraging AI with support from NICD and Digital Catapult.
One demonstration of the potential scale of the impact AI can deliver is shown in a report by Ortus Ltd. This concluded that NICD’s 90 regional projects, most with SMEs, had created over 1500 new jobs and would generate over £800M GVA over the decade to 2033.
The Future of AI Adoption
The report also sets out practical steps to accelerate responsible and effective AI adoption. These include expanding regional Hartree Hubs and BridgeAI partnerships, introducing innovation challenges in regulation and defence, and using devolution to strengthen local AI ecosystems.
AI has the potential to drive sustainable innovation and productivity across the economy, particularly within the UK’s dynamic SME community.
Explore the full report to see how AI adoption can help power the next wave of UK economic growth.
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