UCL School of Management’s Professor Angela Aristidou delivered a keynote talk on what agentic AI means for small and medium-sized enterprises to an audience of 127 global leaders from across 54 countries.

The major webinar was organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and delivered to leaders in government, academia, fintech and global technology providers. It formed part of the OECD’s Digital for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (D4SME) Global Initiative. 

With SMEs generating over half of employment and nearly two-thirds of value added across OECD countries, the session focussed on how the latest advances in artificial intelligence are reshaping opportunities for these enterprises. 

The webinar was chaired by the Italian Deputy Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Valentino Valentini and showcased real-world applications, discussion topics and policy perspectives for agentic (autonomous) artificial intelligence adoption by SMEs. 

Professor Aristidou’s keynote explored the shift from more traditional AI, focussed on prediction and pattern recognition, to Agentic AI systems that can set goals, make informed decisions and act autonomously. 

She highlighted that Agentic AI represents a paradigmatic change for SMEs, enabling rapid experimentation, hyper-personalisation and the ability to leapfrog traditional barriers, since these systems do not require significant capital or compute resources. 

Angela commented on the need for context-specific solutions for SMEs and greater trust in AI design and deployment:

“The main gap to progression for SMEs is not access to technology, but imagination and trust. Agentic AI is opening new possibilities for SMEs to innovate, automate, and compete on a global scale. 

“As these technologies become more accessible, it is important that we invest in AI literacy and support initiatives that reduce AI risk and secure interoperable data-sharing ecosystems.”

The OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries who describe themselves as committed to democracy and market economy.