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AI for SMEs
An AI consultant for small business, that starts small and stays safe
As an AI consultant for small business owners, we help UK firms find two or three practical uses for AI and keep a person on anything customer-facing.
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A person decides0
UK firms with 0 to 9 staff using AI0%Against 49% of firms with 250 or more staff.
Source: Office for National Statistics ↗UK firms (10+ staff) using AI0%Up from around 12% in late 2023.
Source: Office for National Statistics ↗Firms citing no identified need as an AI barrier0%The most common barrier in the DSIT survey.
Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, 28 January 2026 ↗Where the line sits
Small firms use AI less, for now
ONS figures show the smallest UK firms are the least likely to use AI.
That is rarely because the tools are out of reach.
More often it is time, confidence and not knowing where to start.
We work as a practical AI consultant for small business owners: a few focused use cases, low set-up effort and clear rules for what needs a human check.
Where AI earns its keep
- First drafts of emails, quotes and proposals
- Turning notes and receipts into tidy records
- Summaries of long emails and documents
- Social posts and product descriptions to edit
- Simple answers to common customer questions
What the owner still signs off
- Anything sent to a customer in your name
- Prices, discounts and payment terms
- Complaints and online reviews
- Hiring and staff decisions
- What data goes into which tool
First use cases
Where an AI consultant for small business would start
The best first use cases are boring, frequent and easy to check.
Think email drafts, quote templates, job notes into invoices and summaries of long documents.
Each one saves time every week and has an obvious moment where you look before it goes out.
The government’s adoption research found the most common reason firms hold back is not seeing a clear need.
So we start with your week, not with the technology, and only suggest AI where the saving is real.
- Inbox drafting, with you pressing send
- Quotes and proposals from your own templates
- Invoices and records from job notes
- A searchable library of your own documents
85%
AI acts alone
130
65% of 200 cases
Goes to a person
70
35% of 200 cases
Illustrative batch with a typical confidence spread. Your real split comes from a pilot on your own work. Some decisions go to a person whatever the score.
Budget
AI for SMEs, on a sensible budget
Most small firms do not need custom software to get started.
The AI features in tools you already use, plus a few clear rules, often cover the first wins.
Where a small build is worth it, we keep it narrow and make sure you can run it without us.
We will also tell you plainly when a task is better left manual.
If you want to test the water first, a short AI workshop for your team is a simple place to start.
Free public courses can help too, and we list them on our free government AI training page.
AI drafts
Check
Person decides
Learns
01 / 04
Keep it safe
A human signs off anything customer-facing
The rule we use as an AI consultant for small business clients is simple.
If it goes to a customer, commits the business or affects someone’s job, a person checks it first.
That protects your reputation and helps you stay on the right side of data protection law.
The ICO has practical advice for small organisations on handling personal data.
Where a decision about a person is made solely by automated means with significant effects, UK GDPR adds extra safeguards, including human intervention.
We also help you write a one-page AI policy so staff know what they can and cannot put into AI tools.
Keep that policy short, practical and reviewed whenever you add a new tool.
The rule we use as an AI consultant for small business clients is simple.
How it works
Four steps, one owner
Each system ships with a named person accountable for what it does.
01
01
Look at your week
We spend a short session finding the tasks that eat your time.
02
02
Pick two or three
We choose uses that are frequent, low risk and easy to check.
03
03
Set it up
We configure the tools, write simple rules and show your team how to use them.
04
04
Check in
We review what is working after a few weeks and adjust or drop what is not.
Questions
Asked and answered
Further reading
From the source
Office for National StatisticsArtificial intelligence in UK businesses: 2023 to 2026 ↗How many UK firms use AI, by size.Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, 28 January 2026AI Adoption Research ↗Survey of 3,500 UK firms on AI use, barriers, readiness and human oversight.Information Commissioner’s OfficeAdvice for small and medium organisations ↗Self-serve data protection tools for SMEs and sole traders.Information Commissioner’s OfficeRights related to automated decision-making including profiling ↗When UK GDPR requires a human to be able to step in.
Keep reading
Related pages
TrainingAI workshops →An AI workshop that ends with a plan, not a demoTrainingFree government AI training →Free government AI training, explained in plain EnglishGovernanceAI policy template →An AI policy template your team will actually followConsultancyAI consultancy UK →An AI consultancy UK firms can trust, with a person still in charge
Next step
Tell us the work. We’ll show you where the line goes.
A 30-minute call. We map one workflow, what the AI could take, and where a person must stay in the loop.