Despite the fact that artificial intelligence (AI) as a business tool has been highly discussed in the business sector, only 21% of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) made progress in implementing AI in 2023, according to a survey conducted by Microsoft.
“For the first time, our annual survey focuses on the use of AI in small and medium-sized businesses in countries in the Americas. We are particularly interested in Puerto Rico as we see an uptake, and especially interest in implementing AI to impact the day-to-day running of businesses. Additionally, we see areas where SMEs in Puerto Rico can excel, such as business performance and productivity, thanks to the implementation of AI,” said Ineke Geesink, director of small and medium enterprises in Central America and the Caribbean at Microsoft.
The survey ‘AI in micro, small and medium enterprises: trends, challenges and opportunities’ conducted by Microsoft, surveyed 100 Puerto Rican SMEs (companies with 250 or fewer employees).
It focused on understanding how these companies relate to AI, analyzing issues such as the adoption and use of solutions, the drivers behind their implementation, the challenges faced, and their impact on areas such as productivity, efficiency, cybersecurity, and professional training.
Although only 21% have implemented such a tool, 32% of companies reported that AI is a priority for their operation. However, it is even higher for those companies that are digital natives, i.e. companies that have only existed in the digital world or primarily in the cloud, at 59%.
Regardless of the line of business, 61% of companies consider the impact of AI on productivity to be positive, and almost the same proportion identify it as positive for work quality, customer satisfaction and employee engagement, reporting an average increase of 43% in productivity.
The area with the greatest use or potential of the tool was customer service (36%), followed by operations and production (21%). On the other hand, digital native companies give relatively greater prominence to the legal area (24% versus 11% of the total). In general, the survey showed that these small and medium-sized businesses see as the main priority in the implementation of AI the optimization of the use of data for business intelligence (38%).
“AI is here to stay. However, while we have seen a lot of excitement around this new technology, we recognize that in some SMBs there are still questions regarding its use and optimization. With that in mind, Microsoft has created multiple online trainings through its Microsoft Learn platform and via LinkedIn to raise awareness of the wide range of uses this technology presents to all types of businesses,” Geesink emphasized. “At Microsoft, we are committed to the success of all of our customers, no matter how small or large. We strongly believe that AI will become the tool of choice to drive the growth of SMEs in Puerto Rico,” he concluded.
The study included interviews primarily with owners or partners and managers of digital native and non-digital native companies, from a variety of sectors, mostly from the food and beverage industry (22%). These surveyed entrepreneurs and managers were comprised of 67% female and 33% male and 73% between the ages of 25 and 54. Geographically, the participating SMEs are located around the island, with San Juan and Ponce standing out as the towns with the highest number of respondents with 22 and 20 businesses, respectively.