Their findings show many business leaders don’t yet understand how AI can transform the performance of their organisation. The key lies in decision-making AI, or ‘decision intelligence’ – but what does that actually mean?
According to YouGov’s findings published in August 2025, whilst 31% of SME leaders are already using AI-powered tools – and another 15% plan to – just 19% are using AI for decision-making within their business. Strikingly, YouGov’s press release about the new figures took a surprised tone at the concept of using AI to support decision-making, “given the technology’s well-known tendency to occasionally hallucinate answers”.
That sentence highlights a lack of understanding on the part of the author, which perhaps reflects some wider misunderstandings and assumptions. When it comes to business, what do we mean by AI? And are we missing a trick if we’re confined to thinking of it as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot and not applying AI at a higher level to help make important business decisions?
Misunderstandings and mixed messages
Confusion often lies in the broad brush with which ‘AI’ is painted. The term can encompass use cases as disparate as recipe suggestions and predictive analytics engines. This blurs the distinction between novelty and necessity, between compute-intensive curiosity and transformational business decision support.
The YouGov data highlights that only 29% of SMEs have any form of in-house AI expertise; others are turning to external suppliers or remaining cautious. That gap in understanding is fertile ground for misconceptions around reliability, risk, and return.
I see the solution as twofold: firstly, with the need for education. Business leaders, particularly within SMEs and the mid-market, need better support from the public and private sector to understand how AI can substantially boost their company’s performance – that AI isn’t some magic wand but a disciplined data-driven support tool.
Secondly, with tailored delivery. AI is most effective when it’s applied within a system that’s bespoke to each firm’s data, culture, and decision-making habits – not when it’s seen as a ready-made tool to be bought off the shelf.
Decision intelligence
While generative AI and agentic AI help streamline desk-based tasks and automate customer service, the true potential of AI is unlocked with ‘decision intelligence’. For most SMEs, this decision-making AI is what will really boost the bottom line.
Decision intelligence involves bringing an organisation’s data together, then using custom machine-learning models that directly answer the questions business leaders ask: “What’s happening in my business?”, “Why is it happening?”, and “What should I do next?”. I describe it as allowing you to look around corners and look into corners.
These AI tools help businesses deliver tangible outcomes in weeks, not years, drawing on data from multiple sources such as Marketing, Sales, Finance, HR, and Operations, to deliver actionable and accountable intelligence.
Take Irish retail chain Petstop as an example. Using Galvia’s AI-powered platform, they created a single, connected view of their data, breaking down internal silos and enabling faster, smarter decisions across every level of the organisation. With intelligent prompts, real-time predictions, and clear insights, their teams began acting with greater confidence and agility, from the head office to the shop floor. As the founder and CEO told me, “it was like turning on the lights.”
Early results have included their best online sales performance outside the holiday period, recovering a 2.5% revenue dip without spending on ads, and launching customer campaigns that prioritised retention over acquisition, delivering far stronger ROI.
A call for intelligent adoption
SMEs are still in the early stages of AI adoption. I often hear leaders say they can see the potential of AI but don’t know which problem to solve first.
My advice: start with one dataset, one decision or one challenge. Often, the most powerful starting point is to unlock value from what you already have. The risk is that, in trying to do everything, you end up doing nothing.
Encouragingly, there are now more structured ways for leaders to build their confidence in AI. Initiatives such as dedicated AI Adoption accelerator programmes give business directors a chance to understand the fundamentals, explore the potential in their own data, and leave with practical next steps for driving impact. The more SMEs can access that kind of support, the faster they’ll move from AI confusion to clarity.
