How Enterprise Nation members are using AI: The real stories behind the productivity leap

Over the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of gathering first-hand insights from Enterprise Nation members on how they're using AI in their businesses.

This started because I was asked to write an article for the OECD, exploring how governments can better support small businesses with adopting AI and digital tools.

But the responses we received from founders, freelancers and SMEs quickly became success stories in their own right.

The most interesting theme wasn't which tools people are using – although there are plenty of familiar names – but what AI is actually changing for them day to day.

Members consistently described the same outcomes – time saved, faster decision-making, more consistent marketing and a significant boost in confidence.

They also shared a clear warning – that AI is powerful, but works best when you exercise judgement, apply expertise and set boundaries.

This is exactly what we see through Tech Hub, our collaboration with Sage and Google that helps small businesses across the UK access practical technology that allows them to grow.

Thinking of AI as a strategic partner

A number of members described using AI less like a tool and more like a thinking partner. Alison Kenward from Equestrian Heroes is a great example.

She uses the paid version of ChatGPT as a strategic companion and says the prompts make all the difference.

She even shares an example of how she asks AI to assess automated workflows in ManyChat and, in the process, improve her data collection without endless trial and error.

Alison also uses a "co-founder" feature built into the platform that hosts her website. This learns from her previous campaigns and customer behaviour, then helps her position new products more confidently.

The thing she's gained most from using AI is speed and structure.

She's been able to organise her digital systems and move through project work much faster – but she's also clear on the limitations.

Alison emphasises the need to work through one task at a time, and to sense-check an AI tool's output to make sure it's accurate, relevant and suitable.

That blend of curiosity and caution came up repeatedly.

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Faster marketing output, without losing your voice

For many small businesses, AI is allowing them to show up more consistently, without having to turn themselves into content factories.

Hedi Fountain from City Space – a photography, video production and event space in Chelmsford – uses ChatGPT and Gemini to draft client emails, structure proposals, generate marketing ideas and support with event planning.

For Hedi, the biggest impact is the time saved on admin and the ability to respond more quickly to enquiries, which directly improves the customer experience.

She's also thoughtful about the trade-offs. Tone, accuracy and personality still need human input, because audiences can increasingly tell when something has been written entirely by AI.

Remaining authentic

That concern around authenticity is one of the most important signals for anyone writing about adopting AI.

It isn't that founders don't want to use the tools. It's more that they want to protect the reputation and trust they've worked so hard to build.

Sue Keogh, founder of Sookio and an Enterprise Nation adviser, captures this perfectly when she talks about boundaries.

She uses Perplexity for research and ChatGPT for brainstorming ideas for training sessions. She's saved hours cross-referencing one-to-one interview transcripts for brand messaging projects.

But she draws a clear line at asking AI to do the work for her. She doesn't want it to build her communications strategy or do the writing for her.

That's because those are the parts where human expertise and originality matter most, and where poor AI use can harm a brand's reputation.

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Productivity at scale, and the rise of the AI-enabled creative team

Some members are using AI to dramatically compress timelines, especially in marketing and creative work where first drafts and iterations take time.

Max Oliveira runs ZBRA Marketing, a strategic marketing advisory practice, and serves as a fractional chief marketing officer.

He describes using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, NotebookLM and Perplexity for productivity and content, alongside creative tools for visual and video assets.

His key insight is that these tools let him do about six months' worth of work in just two months, and he's now organising his set-up so he can get even more done without working longer hours.

Max also points to a critical truth that policymakers and founders alike need to hold on to – AI still needs strong direction.

The better the input and the more skill behind it, the better the result. AI can help you work faster, but it can't replace good judgement or experience.

Human oversight as a non-negotiable

Reem Khatib from Reem Web Design echoes this from a different angle.

As a solo web designer, she uses AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude to speed up research, refine website messaging, troubleshoot technical issues and streamline content creation for clients.

The benefit is spending less time on repetitive tasks and dedicating more time to strategy and building relationships with clients.

But Reem is explicit about the non-negotiable. Human oversight is crucial, especially when it comes to protecting a brand's voice and making design-related decisions.

The shift from AI tools to AI infrastructure

Alongside individual productivity gains, I've also heard about a new phase of adoption.

That's founders moving from experimenting with stand-alone tools to embedding AI into their operations.

Jeannie McGillivray, co-founder and CEO of Autm describes a shift she's seeing across small and medium-sized businesses.

Businesses want AI that integrates with their existing technology and supports day-to-day operations, not just a chatbot layered on top.

As Jeannie puts it:

"The next phase of AI adoption in the UK will be about infrastructure. Small businesses need intelligence embedded directly into their operations."

Her point helps explain what happens next.

When AI is built into everyday work like follow-ups, documents, task tracking and storing knowledge, small teams can handle more work without the business needing to hire straight away.

It also points to a bigger opportunity for the UK – supporting home-grown technology that strengthens the economy, improves oversight and helps businesses stay strong over time.

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When AI turns a barrier into momentum

A strong theme in the responses was that AI is opening up things that used to be too expensive or hard to access.

Sharif Owadally, co-founder and CEO of Chase Your Extraordinary, says his business wouldn't have been able to build its app without ChatGPT and Codex.

He had product and project management experience, but not coding skills, and AI helped fill that gap.

AI also saved Sharif a lot of time by turning notes into structured documents and first drafts.

The learning curve, in his view, has been working out how to "speak" to AI effectively, and being careful about what it can and can't do.

Lee Hoosein from DemandGenix describes something similar in a different area.

He used Claude to build his company website, then used Claude Code (with human supervision) to maintain and update it.

For Lee, a project that would normally cost thousands in developer fees became something he could handle in-house, with the main costs being subscriptions and his own time.

He also stresses that AI does make mistakes, and that human oversight is vital for maintaining quality and trust.

What this tells us about adopting AI

A clear picture emerges when you put these stories together.

Small businesses aren't waiting for permission to adopt AI. They're experimenting quickly, adapting tools to real needs and building confidence through practice.

They're also learning where the limits are, often through trial and error and improved prompting.

For those of us thinking about policy, programmes and the future of small business support, there's an important lesson here.

Adoption isn't just about making resources available. They must be easy for people to find, relevant and practical enough to use immediately.

That's one of the reasons our Tech Hub programme exists – to bring tools, guidance and learning into one place in a way that feels user-friendly for founders who are short on time.

The next chapter of AI is about how the systems around small businesses become more intuitive, more personalised and more supportive of real-world constraints.

The stories I've shared above show what's possible when businesses use AI with intent.

It saves time, sharpens their thinking, makes them more consistent and helps founders do more of what only they can do.

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