3 Mistakes SMEs Make When Talking About AI

"We want to do AI."

That's the sentence I hear most often when talking to SME leaders.

And every time, I ask the same question: "To solve what problem?"

Silence.

Through conversations with business leaders and technical managers, I've identified 3 mistakes that come up again and again.

Mistake #1: Thinking ChatGPT = AI strategy

Giving your teams a ChatGPT subscription is not an AI strategy. It's like giving everyone Excel and calling it a "data transformation."

A real AI strategy starts with an audit of your processes, not with a tool.

Mistake #2: Starting with the tech, not the problem

"We want a chatbot." Why? "Because everyone has one." Wrong reason.

The right question: what repetitive task costs your business the most? That's where you should start.

Mistake #3: Underestimating data quality

The best model in the world won't do anything useful if your data is scattered across 15 Excel files, 3 SharePoint sites, and the inbox of someone who left last year.

First step: centralise everything in a single tool before thinking about AI.

The good news

These mistakes are fixable. And often, a simple 2-3 day audit is enough to see the way forward.

If you recognise yourself in any of these mistakes, let's talk. Book a 30-minute discovery call. It's free and with no commitment.