Key findings:

  • 31% of SME businesses currently use AI; another 15% plan to.
  • IT/telecoms (56%) and marketing (53%) lead in adoption.
  • 54% use AI to automate tasks; 45% for marketing.
  • 57% worry AI could reduce business creativity.

If you’ve ever wondered whether British business leaders are rolling out the red carpet for our new AI overlords, the answer is: not quite yet. While 86% say they’re familiar with artificial intelligence, adoption is still far from universal.

AI adoption: Early days for most sectors
We asked 1,000 SME decision-makers (up to 250 employees) about their approach to AI via B2B Omnibus, a tool designed to survey business leaders across industries and company sizes.

Right now, 31% of SMEs are actually using AI-powered tools, with another 15% planning to do so. The most enthusiastic adopters? IT and telecoms (56%) and media, marketing, and advertising (53%). On the flip side, sectors like real estate (11%), transportation and distribution (15%), hospitality and leisure (18%), manufacturing (19%), and retail (19%) are a long way behind.

How AI is being used (and not used)
Among SMEs using or planning to use AI, half are turning to it for task automation (54%), and nearly as many for marketing or advertising (45%). Product or service development is another major use case (37%), followed by customer service (31%), and operations/logistics (28%). It’s perhaps surprising that one in five businesses (19%) use AI for decision-making, given the technology’s well-known tendency to occasionally hallucinate answers.

Expertise: In-house vs. external help
Seven in ten SME decision-makers using AI say they have staff with the right expertise in-house (67%). But when it comes to hiring external consultants, 26% are likely to bring in outside help, and 13% already do. Most, it seems, prefer to keep things within the organization.

Learning about AI
When it comes to learning about AI, 57% get their information from online news sources, half rely on peers or professionals (53%), and almost as many use social media (48%). Industry publications (35%), conferences (27%), and consultants (27%) are also on the radar, but to a lesser extent.

Barriers: Privacy, skepticism, and ethics
Not everyone is convinced. Among businesses not planning to use AI, half point to concerns around data privacy and security (49%). Three in ten (30%) simply don’t see the value, and one in five (19%) are put off by ethical concerns.

Even among adopters, nerves remain. Almost half (48%) worry AI could negatively affect employees’ critical thinking skills. Others see legal risks (42%) or the threat of job losses (34%). And three in five (58%) are concerned that leaning too heavily on AI could reduce business creativity.

Cautious optimism
The bottom line? Most UK businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach. But those who have taken the plunge are already finding useful roles for AI suggesting that, as experience and expertise spread, adoption may start to pick up pace. Until then, it looks like the red carpet may be firmly rolled up.