Dell study finds UK SME AI front-runners save more time

Dell Technologies has published research on how UK small and medium-sized businesses are using artificial intelligence, finding a small group of firms reporting far greater time savings than the wider SME market.

The study surveyed 2,013 SME decision-makers in the UK and found that AI saves an average of 2.5 hours per employee each week. Within that sample, 7% were identified as AI front-runners, with those businesses reporting gains of six or more hours per employee each week, equivalent to more than 280 hours a year.

Two-thirds of SMEs said AI would somewhat or significantly boost business growth over the next three years, while 56% said it gives their business a competitive advantage. Productivity was the main reason for investing in AI, cited by 43% of respondents, followed by better decision-making at 30% and improved customer experience at 29%.

The findings suggest the strongest reported gains are linked less to company size or sector than to how businesses approach adoption. Firms in the front-runner group were more likely to say their leaders champion AI as a priority, at 38% compared with 23% of SMEs overall.

They were also more likely to define specific AI use cases, with 52% doing so compared with 25% across the broader SME sample. A similar gap appeared on culture: 45% of front-runners said they had cultivated an AI-friendly culture, against 25% overall.

Tool use

The research also pointed to broader use of different types of AI tools among the most advanced adopters. More than half of AI front-runners used generative AI for content creation, at 54% versus 30% of SMEs overall.

AI-powered data analysis was used by 49% of front-runners, compared with 27% across SMEs. Virtual assistants or chatbots for customer support were used by 38% of front-runners, against 19% overall, while 29% said they were deploying AI agents, compared with 12% of the wider SME group.

Hardware investment also differed, with 23% of front-runners saying they used AI-enabled PCs, compared with 15% of SMEs overall.

The report found that SMEs see AI as a way to shift staff time towards higher-value work. Among all SMEs, 27% said AI creates opportunities to work on more strategic outputs, while 24% said it creates opportunities to do more interesting work.

Lisa Ronaldson, UK Senior Sales Director, Medium Business at Dell Technologies, said the time savings matter most in how businesses use that extra capacity. "Time gained is an impressive measure, but what really counts is what that additional capacity can enable for business owners and their teams," Ronaldson said. "Most business owners didn't start a company to spend their days wrestling with admin, analysing spreadsheets or writing marketing copy. AI can help take some of that weight away, so people can focus more of their time on customers, expertise and growth."

Early stage

The research also challenged the idea that the best AI results come only from businesses with the deepest technical resources. More than a third of the SME front-runners, 38%, still described themselves as being in the early stages of adoption or as having AI in only a handful of functions.

That finding matched advice from front-runners to peers: nearly half, 48%, said businesses should start small and iterate.

Large companies surveyed also pointed to structural advantages for smaller businesses. Among decision-makers at large businesses, 61% said greater flexibility gives SMEs an advantage in adopting and innovating with AI, while 43% cited more focused business needs and 38% pointed to a greater appetite for innovation and risk-taking.

SMEs were less likely than larger companies to report internal barriers. Lengthy approval processes were cited by 12% of SMEs, compared with 27% of large businesses. Resistance from teams stood at 17% versus 27%, while fear of failure was cited by 21% compared with 33%.

Brian Horsburgh, UK Small Business Country Manager at Dell Technologies, said the pattern is shaped by practical application rather than scale. "For SMEs, AI success is less about scale and technical maturity and more about applying the right tools to the right business challenges," Horsburgh said. "The businesses seeing the strongest results aren't trying to deploy every new AI tool at once. They're identifying specific problems to solve, building confidence through early wins and gradually broadening what their teams are capable of doing."

Across sectors

Front-runners were spread across every sector covered by the study, suggesting strong reported outcomes are not confined to one part of the economy. IT accounted for 21% of AI front-runners, followed by Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction at 19%, Retail at 15%, Professional Services at 15%, Consumer Goods and Services at 11%, and Banking, Financial Services and Insurance at 6%.

The survey also found a link between stronger AI outcomes and employee training. Nearly half of front-runners, 48%, said they prioritise staff training as much as the tools themselves, compared with 32% of SMEs overall and 52% of large businesses.

FocalData carried out the research among 2,726 UK business decision-makers, including 713 respondents from large businesses as well as the SME sample.