That gap is where the real story sits.
At Elite Business Live, a distinguished panel of founders, strategists, and technology leaders convened to explore a pressing question facing many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): If AI adoption is widespread, why are so few businesses truly reaping its benefits?
The panel’s conclusion was enlightening and defied common assumptions. The challenge does not lie in the AI tools themselves, but in how businesses think, lead, and operate. This conversation brought together diverse perspectives, featuring futurist and author Andrew Grill, Dave Birss, co-founder of GenAI Academy, Kunal Kaul, Managing Director for Small and Medium Businesses at Cisco EMEA, Joe Seddon, founder and CEO of Zero Gravity, and Julie Holmes, AI strategist and founder of Rivet Labs.
With combined frontline experience across technology, leadership, and scaling businesses, the panel provided a grounded view on moving AI from mere experimentation to meaningful and scalable impact.
AI adoption is failing because businesses are solving the wrong problem
A major misconception discussed was the widespread belief that AI’s primary value lies in boosting productivity. This narrative—faster, cheaper, more efficient—is pervasive but, according to Dave Birss, it limits the potential of AI. He emphasized, “AI is good at amplifying human ability.”
Shifting the focus from mere efficiency to amplification opens doors to growth and innovation. When companies concentrate solely on cost-cutting, they restrict AI to optimizing existing processes rather than reimagining what is possible. This mindset trap contributes to why many organisations stall in their AI journey.
The hidden advantage most SMEs are missing
Andrew Grill highlighted a simple but often overlooked reality: many SMEs already have AI-enabled tools at their disposal—they simply aren’t fully utilising them. This presents immediate opportunities such as:
- Activating AI features embedded in existing software
- Leveraging natural language queries instead of manual reporting
- Extracting insights faster without additional investment
While these quick wins are valuable, the true differentiator is not just having access to technology but how organisations integrate and use it effectively.
Culture, not capability, determines success
A recurring theme in the discussion was that the success of AI is predominantly a leadership and cultural challenge rather than a purely technical one. Julie Holmes candidly stated, “Leaders are not leading by example. They are leading by proclamation.”
This means businesses often encourage teams to adopt AI but fail to create the conditions necessary for genuine adoption. Two critical barriers surfaced:
1. Lack of protected time
Teams are urged to learn and experiment with AI, but without dedicated time, this effort remains superficial.
2. Leadership disconnect
If leaders themselves do not actively use AI, the message to employees is that AI adoption is optional—something that rarely becomes embedded in busy organisations.
Why most AI strategies never scale
Kunal Kaul reinforced that technology itself is no longer the limiting factor. “The differentiator is the human system around it.” This system encompasses:
- Leadership mindset
- Willingness to experiment
- Openness to sharing data
- Acceptance of failure
AI development is iterative by nature, requiring continuous testing, learning, and refining. Without a culture supporting these principles, progress stalls. Data silos compound the problem, fragmenting intelligence and limiting AI’s impact—even when sophisticated tools are available.
Cost saving is not the goal. Growth is.
Many SMEs initiate their AI journey with cost reduction in mind, which is logical but potentially limiting. Kunal Kaul framed this perspective sharply: “If we are settling for cost savings, we are playing defence.”
The bigger opportunity lies in using AI to:
- Create new products and services
- Personalise customer experiences at scale
- Deliver predictive support
- Enter new markets
Joe Seddon expanded on this, illustrating how AI is transforming what is economically feasible. Complex or expensive problems once out of reach are now solvable. For SMEs, this levels the playing field by enabling:
- Smaller teams to tackle bigger challenges
- Bootstrapped businesses to compete with funded startups
- Organisations to pivot rapidly when necessary
AI is not merely about efficiency improvements—it is redefining ambition.
The cost of doing nothing is rising fast
The panel highlighted the compounding risk of inaction. AI evolves rapidly, and each month without engagement widens the gap between businesses that experiment and those that do not. “The cost is not just doing something. It is the cost of not doing something.” Many organisations underestimate this impact. Delay is not neutral—it effectively grants competitors a strategic advantage.
Rethinking work: tasks, not jobs
Andrew Grill offered a practical framework for approaching AI: instead of viewing work by roles, break it down into tasks. Categorise tasks into:
- Those you enjoy and want to keep
- Those that are repetitive or draining
“Focus on what you love and automate the rest.” This mindset shifts the narrative from job elimination to work redistribution, allowing people to concentrate on higher-value, fulfilling activities.
Skills over tools with the shift to AI fluency
The discussion consistently emphasized the importance of people. Despite significant investments in technology, many organisations underinvest in developing AI skills among their workforce. Dave Birss noted a stark imbalance: most spending goes into tools, while a small fraction targets people, creating a disconnect.
Tools alone cannot drive transformation—skills do.
Kunal Kaul introduced an important distinction between AI proficiency and AI fluency. Fluency involves:
- Understanding how AI affects decision-making
- Knowing when to question AI outputs
- Applying human judgment alongside automation
Without AI fluency, businesses risk creating a two-tier workforce—those who can leverage AI effectively and those who cannot.
Why SMEs have the advantage
Although large corporations often dominate headlines, the panel agreed that SMEs are uniquely positioned to move quickly. Their advantages include:
- Less legacy infrastructure
- Faster decision-making
- Greater flexibility
- Higher tolerance for experimentation
Joe Seddon described this moment as the dawn of an era where nimble, smaller businesses can compete on a much larger scale. However, this advantage only materialises if actively leveraged.
Building a culture of experimentation
How can businesses evolve from capability to culture? Julie Holmes offered a clear framework: “Show and fail.”
Rather than emphasizing perfect success stories, teams should regularly share:
- What they tested
- What worked
- What didn’t
- What they learned
This approach fosters:
- Psychological safety
- Faster learning cycles
- Greater team engagement
Most importantly, it normalizes experimentation as a core part of the AI journey.
What customers actually care about
The conversation concluded with a reminder that, regardless of technology, customers ultimately care about outcomes:
- They want problems solved quickly and effectively
- Not perfect processes
- Not impressive technology
- Just results
This insight is critical when determining where and how to deploy AI for maximum impact.
Where to focus next
To move from AI experimentation to tangible impact, businesses should focus on fundamentals first.
Start here:
- Audit the AI capabilities already embedded in your existing tools
- Invest in training and building AI fluency across your team
- Break workflows into discrete tasks and identify automation opportunities
- Encourage experimentation through regular sharing and feedback
- Remove data silos to unlock full value from your information
Then go further:
- Shift focus from cost savings to growth opportunities
- Reimagine your products, services, and customer experiences
- Build a culture where leadership actively participates in AI adoption
The businesses that succeed will not necessarily have the best tools. They will be the ones who embed AI into their everyday ways of working.
For more insights on how SMEs can unlock AI’s potential, read more here.
