Where AI pays in an SME
Print / save as PDF
Work top to bottom. The aim is one proven win, not a transformation programme.
1 · Find the work
List the five tasks that eat the most time across the week.
Flag the ones that are high-volume, rules-based and low-risk if occasionally wrong.
Note anywhere people re-key the same data between systems.
2 · Pick one
Choose a single task with clear inputs, a clear definition of "done", and a low cost of error.
Write down the one number that proves it worked — hours saved, faster replies, fewer errors.
3 · Spend last
Check what you already pay for — Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, your CRM and accounting tools increasingly have AI built in.
Only then look at a new tool, judged on fit and return — not hype.
4 · Govern from day one
Decide who signs off before AI acts on anything that touches money, a customer or risk.
Agree what must never be put into a public AI tool.
Keep a simple register of which AI tools your team uses.
5 · Prove, then widen
Run it small, in production, for a few weeks.
Measure against your number, then keep it, fix it or drop it — honestly.
Only widen to the next task once this one has paid.