Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generate over half of employment and nearly two-thirds of value added across OECD countries, making their competitiveness central to long-term economic performance. Strengthening SME productivity increasingly depends on the integration of digital and AI tools. AI uptake among SMEs remains relatively low in absolute terms, but it has accelerated with the rise of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, Claude or LeChat among others. The data illustrates this clearly: after rising slowly from 7.2% to 8.5% between 2021 and 2023, adoption surged to 14% in 2024 with the spread of generative AI - an increase of 64% in just one year. While adoption is higher among medium-sized (20.4%) and large (40%) firms, this trend shows how new, more accessible tools can be particularly relevant for SMEs.
Currently, a new wave of “agentic AI” systems is emerging. Beyond prediction and analysis, these systems can set goals, make decisions, and act autonomously. For SMEs, this could mean unprecedented opportunities to automate processes, personalise services, and scale innovation, while also raising pressing questions about accountability, governance, and readiness.
This webinar will bring together experts from academia, industry, fintech, government, and technology providers to discuss how agentic AI can empower SMEs, the risks and adoption challenges they face, and how policy and partnerships can support responsible uptake.
