How SMEs Unlock Greater Value From AI

InnovationHow SMEs Unlock Greater Value From AIByRalph Haupter,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 21, 2026, 06:30am EDTRalph Haupter is Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer for Small, Medium Enterprises and Channel (SME&C) at Microsoft. getty​Most companies are already experimenting with AI. That part is done. What separates small and medium enterprises (SMEs) now is execution. ​I see many SMEs outperforming expectations with AI. This isn't because they have bigger budgets or deeper benches, but because they make clear choices and act on them. ​The data backs this up. Across markets, AI adoption in this segment is rising fast. OECD’s SME Digitalisation for Competitiveness reported that 39% of global SMEs now use AI applications, while generative AI adoption has risen to 26%. In the UK specifically, the British Chambers of Commerce stated 54% of SMEs are actively using AI in 2026, up from 25% in 2024 and 23% in 2023. ​Access to AI isn’t the problem; neither is willingness to experiment. The issue is focus. ​Right now, many organizations are rushing into AI because of FOMO, as my son calls it. Teams are piling into tools and pilots without a clear long‑term goal. It feels like an AI gold rush. And history tells us how those end. Most of the value doesn’t go to the people digging for gold. It goes to those who build the infrastructure, the systems and the operating model that lasts. ​Many organizations start with the technology and hope value will show up later. While large enterprises can absorb years of experimentation before seeing returns, most SMEs can’t. They don’t have the time, capital or spare capacity. ​That’s why SMEs need to be clear about where AI belongs in the business and where it doesn’t. By assessing effort‑versus‑impact, SMEs can make confident decisions fast. This...