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More than seven in 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recognize the need to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), but fewer than two in 10 have developed concrete implementation plans, according to a survey.

The Main-Biz Association (Korea Management Innovation Association for Small and Medium Business) released the results of its "2026 Survey on AI Adoption and Utilization among SMEs," conducted among 307 Main-Biz member companies nationwide. The survey was designed to assess the current state of AI utilization, challenges and policy support needs among SMEs.

The survey found that 71.4% of responding companies said AI adoption was necessary to secure competitiveness and achieve growth. However, only 17.6% had concrete plans to adopt AI or enhance their AI capabilities within the next two years. Companies that recognized the need for AI but had no plans accounted for 33.6%, while 18.9% were exploring suitable AI solutions, revealing a significant gap between awareness and implementation.

In particular, the challenges companies faced in adopting AI varied by stage. In the initial stage of considering and preparing for adoption, the most frequently cited difficulty was a lack of suitable use cases (49.2%), followed by uncertainty over returns on investment (31.6%).

At the system development and demonstration stage, companies identified difficulties in customizing systems to suit their business needs (44.6%) and integrating AI with existing data and systems (38.5%) as major obstacles.

Finally, at the actual utilization stage, the biggest challenges were the burden of additional costs, such as software subscription and maintenance fees (47.1%), and a lack of capabilities to handle and review AI-generated outputs (37.3%).

To overcome these challenges, the most sought-after policy support was financial assistance for AI solution adoption and implementation (67.4%). This was followed by AI adoption assessments and consulting (45.6%), matching services providing information on AI solutions and suppliers (44.3%), and support for data and system development (35.5%), indicating strong demand for both direct and indirect financial assistance and specialized support.

Regarding workforce issues, 56.0% of respondents expressed a need for specialized personnel, but their most preferred solution was to train existing employees and assign them to AI-related roles (50.4%). In addition, 58.0% said they would participate if suitable support programs were introduced.

"Although SMEs are highly aware of the need to adopt AI, they face many practical obstacles at each stage before they can apply it to their operations and generate results," a Main-Biz Association official said.

"We need to strengthen integrated support, from assessments tailored to each company's level of readiness to matching services and pilot implementation, to improve productivity and competitiveness," the official emphasized.

                                                                                                                Oh Se-eun