#023 They thought AI was out of reach. Then they tripled productivity.

I recently attended what I'd call an "AI for the real world" conference in Dubai. There were no flashy demos, no talks about sentient robots, and hardly any tech jargon.

Just honest conversations with SME leaders about how they're using AI in their businesses.

Frankly, I was skeptical at first. As someone who's seen plenty of tech hype, I expected more of the same.

But this felt different. It energized me. And as I tried to figure out why, I noticed a pattern in the stories I was hearing.

They weren't just about cutting-edge technology or massive data sets. These stories all featured something I'll call "practical AI adoption."

I'm not talking about AI for the sake of AI or chasing the latest trends. I'm talking about a specific approach to implementing AI that came up again and again.

Let me explain.

AI as a problem-solving tool

When most SMEs think about AI, their first instinct is to list all the reasons why it won't work for them.

"We're too small."

"Our data isn't good enough."

"It's too expensive and complex."

But the leaders I met in Dubai had a fundamentally different approach to AI.

Instead of seeing barriers, they viewed AI as a flexible tool to solve specific business problems. They seemed to approach AI implementation like a puzzle to be solved, not an insurmountable challenge.

Here are two stories I found particularly compelling:

Story #1: The overwhelmed customer service team

One founder shared how his 10-person support team was drowning in tickets. Instead of hiring more staff, he took three specific actions:

1. He partnered with an AI consultancy to analyze their most common customer queries.

2. They built a custom chatbot that could handle 60% of routine questions.

3. They implemented an AI-powered ticketing system that prioritized and routed complex issues to the right specialist.

The result? Customer response times dropped by 70%, and the team now handles 3x the volume without adding headcount.

Story #2: The inventory management nightmare

A woman told me about her e-commerce business that was constantly plagued by stockouts and overstocking. But instead of accepting it as "part of the business," she created an AI-driven solution:

1. Collected historical sales data and integrated it with current market trends

2. Implemented a machine learning model to predict demand for each product

3. Set up automated reordering based on the AI's predictions

She reduced stockouts by 85% and cut excess inventory costs by 30% within three months.

The solution was right there — she just needed the right approach and tools.

Taking a tactical approach to AI adoption

As you can see, these stories aren't about implementing AI for its own sake. They're about using AI as a targeted solution for specific business challenges.

Here are three tactical approaches I learned:

1. The Problem-First Approach: Instead of asking "How can we use AI?", start with "What's our biggest business challenge?" Then explore how AI might address it.

2. The Data Audit: Before jumping into AI, take stock of what data you already have. One attendee discovered they had years of valuable customer data they weren't using.

3. The Micro-Pilot: Start with a small, low-risk AI project. One company began by using AI to optimize their email subject lines, saw a 15% open rate increase, and then expanded from there.

Implementing AI isn't just about technology. It's about having the vision to see how it can solve real business problems, and the persistence to make it work for your specific needs.

And success with AI isn't just about having big budgets or tech expertise — it's about having a clear strategy and the right partners to guide you through the process.

If you're serious about leveraging AI for your SME, I'd encourage you to explore aiDAPT's tailored AI solutions. We specialize in making AI accessible and impactful for businesses just like yours.

• Assessing your AI readiness

• Identifying high-impact AI opportunities

• Designing and implementing custom AI solutions

• Measuring and optimizing AI performance

• And much, much more...

Start your AI journey with aiDAPT today.

That's all for today.

See you next week.