Translated with DeepL
Imagine a medium-sized company that works at the limits of its capacity day in, day out. With AI-supported tools, routine tasks can be automated, reports can be written more quickly and production processes can be monitored more efficiently. This creates space for what really counts: new ideas, personal customer contacts and strategic development.
The possibilities are manifold: chatbots take the pressure off customer service, translation tools open up international markets and automated quality controls ensure consistently high standards in production. For many SMEs, these are opportunities that previously only large companies could utilise.
But getting there is not a sure-fire success. Employees need to recognise the benefits of working with AI, comply with legal requirements such as the EU AI Act and build a solid digital infrastructure. They also need high-quality data and the necessary expertise to use the systems successfully.
If implemented correctly, AI can turn from a buzzword into a tool - and can help SMEs to secure their competitiveness in the long term.
The full article was written by Prof Dr Mascha Kurpicz-Briki (BFH), Dr Lamia Friha (University of Geneva) and Prof Dr Andrea Rizzoli (SUPSI) and was published in KMU-Magazin . The authors are part of the SAIROP network.
This article in KMU-Magazin is part of a series that has emerged as a follow-up activity to the publication Orientation AI: Challenges and Opportunities for Swiss SMEs. This SATW publication supports small and medium-sized enterprises in recognising the potential of artificial intelligence and planning concrete next steps.
The content was created in close collaboration with stakeholders from the SAIROP (Swiss AI Research Overview Platform) network. SAIROP promotes the exchange between science, business and society, makes Swiss AI expertise visible and provides orientation in the dynamic AI ecosystem.
AI increases productivity, optimises processes, improves quality assurance and enables data-based forecasts.
Employees must accept AI and recognise its benefits. Acceptance is crucial for successful implementation.
EU AI Act, ensure data protection and assess risks. External legal advice is often useful.
Digital infrastructure, access to knowledge about company processes, high-quality data and internal/external expertise in the field of AI/ML.
Writing and translation assistants, document summaries, marketing content, chatbots in customer support, internal knowledge assistants.
No. AI can only take on clearly defined tasks, not the holistic role of CEO, CTO or CFO.
Only clean, relevant and consistent data leads to useful results. Bad data = bad results.
Advice on legal & data protection, technical implementation, data management, university or provider cooperation.
