The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its annual D4SME Survey titled Empowering SMEs in the age of AI. It looked at how small and medium enterprises are navigating digital transformation. In the 2026 edition, the report surveyed over 2,000 SMEs across twelve countries: Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This year’s survey introduced an expanded assessment of AI integration using the OECD G7 AI Taxonomy developed under Canada’s 2025 G7 presidency, alongside analysis of digital maturity, cybersecurity, sustainability tools, financial technology, employee well-being, and government support.

Key findings from this year’s report include:

• 61 per cent of SMEs now use at least one AI-enabled application;
• 76 per cent of AI-using SMEs are “AI novices”, relying on off‑the‑shelf tools used for isolated tasks;
• 22 per cent have experienced a digital security breach; and
• 65 per cent of non-beneficiaries are unaware of available government support.

While AI adoption is widespread, the report finds its use is shallow and concentrated in basic applications. 61 per cent of surveyed SMEs reported using AI, with the vast majority relying on basic off-the-shelf tools for isolated tasks. Of those using AI, 70 per cent use the technology for marketing content, 56 per cent use it for drafting documents, 46 per cent use it for idea generation, and 34 per cent use it for translation or language support.

Only 3.6 per cent were found to be deploying customised or agentic AI enterprise-wide. 21 per cent report significant or transformational impact, though evidence from Japan shows that broader organisational deployment increases the likelihood of transformational outcomes, rising from 2 per cent for isolated use to 23 per cent for enterprise-wide deployment.

The report found digital maturity among those surveyed to be uneven. One in five firms remain at a basic digital stage with only 49 per cent having reached advanced integration. The firm-size gap in AI adoption widened to 35 percentage points between small and large firms in 2025, up from 23 points in 2023, suggesting larger businesses are accelerating faster.

Despite 60 per cent of firms having a formalised digitalisation strategy, the report found most rely on informal channels such as internet searches and personal networks to fill skills gaps. Only 21 per cent use generative AI to address skills needs, citing a lack of time for training and maintenance costs being the top barriers to adoption.

The survey found the gap between digital exposure and security readiness to be a growing concern that many SMEs say deters further digitalisation. Nearly half of SMEs have no or only minimal cybersecurity measures. Secure passwords and two-factor authentication at the most common protections, with less than 13 per cent conducting regular access reviews and 7 per cent engage an external expert annually. These findings come as AI assisted phishing accounted for over 80 per cent of social-engineering activity in 2025.

While public digitalisation programmes exist, 65 per cent of respondents reported being unaware of government support. The support that does exist is primarily financial, despite 24 per cent of SMEs calling for affordable training options.

The 2026 D4SME Survey showed that while AI uptake among SMEs is rising, its use remains surface-level. The policy challenge ahead is not to drive adoption alone, but to ensure AI integration within SMEs moves beyond isolated tools and into the core of how businesses operate. Find the full 2026 OECD D4SME Survey here.