Trinity College Dublin and Microsoft Ireland Research Shows a Widening AI Maturity Gap Between SMEs and Large Organisations

New research from Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with Microsoft Ireland finds a widening AI maturity gap among Ireland’s small and medium-sized enterprises that, if left unaddressed, risks constraining national productivity and growth. The AI Economy Ireland 2026 report – the third in an annual series tracking how AI adoption and organisational readiness are shaping economic capacity nationwide – finds that AI adoption is now near-universal with 92% of organisations using or planning to use AI. Despite this, just 10% of leaders describe their deployment of AI as advanced or frontier-level, and SMEs remain disproportionately concentrated at the early stages.

SMEs that invest in AI are more likely to report significant productivity gains than large organisations (18% vs 8%) – a sign that, where SMEs do commit, the returns are real. But too few SMEs are making that investment. Given that SMEs account for more than two-thirds of all employment in Ireland and contribute over 40% of gross value added, the economic stakes are significant.

The report shows a persistent AI readiness gap that is already translating into uneven business outcomes between large firms and SMEs. Large firms are more than twice as likely to deliver weekly time savings of two hours or more per employee (54% vs 25%), and SMEs are more than twice as likely to have no formal AI training in place (15% vs 6%). Left unchecked, this divide risks becoming a structural drag on the country’s productivity and growth.

This gap matters because even modest levels of AI adoption are already delivering measurable gains in day?to?day work. A typical mid-sized organisation in Ireland is freeing up to 1,000 hours a month through everyday AI use, driven by reduced time spent on meetings, email and routine administrative tasks. For large multinational organisations operating here, this rises to up to 5,000 hours per month.

Importantly, the impact extends beyond organisational efficiency, with clear, direct benefits for leaders themselves. 70% of leaders report a reduction in overall workload pressure, while one in three say AI is making it easier to switch off from work. A further 26% report reduced evening or weekend work.

While efficiency gains are important, they represent only the first phase of AI’s economic potential. International evidence already suggests the biggest returns come not from doing today’s work faster, but from using AI to create new value – through innovation, new products and growth. However, the findings show that many organisations have yet to redesign workflows, governance or operating models to capture these gains at scale. Ultimately, the next phase of economic impact in Ireland will depend on whether organisations use the time freed up by AI to drive innovation and growth, not just efficiency.

Regarding AI adoption, Ireland compares relatively well when set against international benchmarks. Current levels of AI use across Ireland’s workforce place the country among the leading group globally, while enterprise-level adoption in Ireland sits modestly above the EU average. Challenges around governance, skills and translating adoption into organisational impact mirror patterns identified in OECD and international research.

“AI is already delivering real value for Irish organisations, freeing up thousands of hours a month,” said Catherine Doyle, General Manager, Microsoft Ireland. “The opportunity now is to make sure the benefits are felt equally. That means closing confidence gaps wherever they exist and supporting SMEs to scale from early adoption to full integration. That’s where the next wave of value will come from.

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