🏔 AI Basecamp · Tuesday 13 October · HubSpot HQ, Dublin. · See the details & register →

A national AI adoption movement for SMEs

SMEs Need AI Help.

The gap is widening between the businesses that have figured out AI and the businesses that haven't. We need to close it before it becomes permanent.

we need help → we can help →

Not selling. Showing and helping.

AI Action / Live

Upcoming events

Kindly hosted by HubSpot for Startups

Flagship event · Tuesday 13 October · HUBSPOT HQ, DUBLIN

AI Basecamp

Meet Irish SMEs putting AI to work — live, working examples openly shared by the owners and leaders who’ve already done it. The day before Ireland’s National AI Summit, kindly hosted by HubSpot for Startups.

Starting — first real wins using AI on everyday tasks
Embedding — from personal use to running it business-wide
Scaling — growing AI safely, with the right strategy and guardrails
200 Irish SME owners in one room, learning from peers who’ve done it

When  Tuesday 13 October 2026 · 3:00–7:00pm
Where  HubSpot International & EMEA HQ, Dublin 2
Cost  Limited places

Now booking

Claim your place

Real, working AI — honestly told by the owners who built it. You’ll leave with a clear next step for your business, and the confidence to take it.

See the event & register →

Or register directly on Luma →

Our activity — past & upcoming

AI in Practice — National Food & Beverage Innovation Summit, June 2026

Past June 2026 · Croke Park, Dublin

AI in Practice — Food & Beverage Summit

AI Action chaired the AI session — moving owners from AI theatre to operational reality, with live deployment stories.

How We’re Using AI in Business webinar — Day 1 flyer

Past Tue 29 July 2026

How We’re Using AI in Business — Day 1

Stephen Browne (IO Resource) & Barry Prost (Rent a Recruiter) on what they’ve actually deployed.

Request the recording →

How We’re Using AI in Business webinar — Day 2 flyer

Past Wed 30 July 2026

How We’re Using AI in Business — Day 2

Christina Russell (OLIVER) & Dr. Elena Alikhachkina (InfoFluence.ai) on AI in marketing & leadership.

Request the recording →

AI Strategy Build Week flyer — 12/13/14 August, Dublin

Past 12–14 Aug 2026 · Dublin

AI Strategy Build Week

Three sold-out hands-on mornings — owners walked out with a real Company AI Strategy.

Interested in the next one? →

AI Basecamp — 13 October, HubSpot HQ Dublin

Next up Tue 13 October 2026 · HubSpot HQ, Dublin

AI Basecamp

Meet Irish SMEs putting AI to work — live examples from owners who’ve done it. Hosted by HubSpot for Startups.

See the details & register →

Autumn 2026New sessions coming

Upcoming Autumn 2026

More webinars & AI Build Sprints

New peer-led sessions and build sprints landing through the autumn. Register your interest and we’ll tell you first.

Register your interest →

The challenge

Too many business owners are wading through AI hype — and still can't see what it would actually do in a business like theirs.

AI has arrived faster than any of us expected. Most business owners know they need to act. Most are afraid of being left behind. But when they look for help, too much of what they find is theory and hype — explanations of what AI is, but rarely what it actually does inside a real business - save time, reduce costs, improve margins, win customers, compete more effectively

The knowledge they need already exists. It's hidden inside the boardrooms of successful companies with the owners and leaders who have already done it, made the mistakes, and figured out what works. Now...they are willing to share.

AI Action is how we get that knowledge out.

99.8%of Irish businesses are SMEs (supporting 2/3 of the workforce) with 40% (1.2M) Irish jobs exposed to AI disruption (IMF 2026)

86.2%of Irish SMEs have not yet adopted AI (ESRI 2026)

82%of SMEs report critical AI skills gaps undermining competitiveness (IBEC 2026)

2%of Irish SMEs make extensive use of AI across their business (EI 2026)

Why it matters

AI doesn't just build better businesses. It protects the people inside them.

The SMEs most at risk of losing jobs are not the ones learning to use AI. They are the ones standing still while their competitors at home and abroad become leaner, faster, and better informed.

That is where jobs are really at risk. Not from AI. From inaction.

This is not a technology argument. It is a survival argument. Healthier businesses survive — and businesses that survive protect the jobs of every person working in them.

Repetitive tasks automated — people focus on higher-value work
Errors and waste reduced — margins and resilience rise
Customer experience improves — loyalty and repeat business grow
Decisions get faster — owners respond to change
Small firms compete with companies ten times their size

How it works

Peer-led. Practical. Nobody leaves empty-handed.

AI Action live runs a national roadshow of SME peer-led events — business owners who have already deployed AI showing other owners exactly what worked, what failed, and what they'd do differently. Not consultants. Not theory. Operators, showing and helping.

01

Sign up

You start a first-draft AI strategy before you arrive so the day works for your business.

02

Hear what really happened

Real Irish owners share the honest story of deploying AI, the wins and the mistakes.

03

Work your challenge

Break into focused sessions by sector and need from zero-knowledge to board-level.

04

Leave with a plan

You walk out with a signed AI strategy and your first build ready to act on Monday.

Work with us

From “where do we start?” to a working AI build — in weeks, not years.

Beyond the events, AI Action works directly with Irish businesses. One simple pathway — start small, prove the value, then scale. We work hand-in-hand with Ireland's enterprise supports — your Local Enterprise Office, Enterprise Ireland, Skillnet — so every existing support works harder for you. Enterprise supports may offset part of the cost; we help you check and apply.

1

Discover

The AI Opportunity Workshop. A half-day session that maps where AI can genuinely help your business. You leave with a prioritised plan, a signed one-page AI strategy, and a first build to aim at.

2

Build

The One-Week AI Build Sprint. We build your top use case. In one week you go from a plan to a working AI tool in your business.

3

Grow

Deploy & Aftercare. The AI Action team help you roll it out, then tackle the next opportunity — monthly support so momentum never stops.

Book an AI Opportunity Workshop →

The model

One movement. 5 divisions.

AI Action is built as a connected ecosystem. Each action reinforces the other so that together we can move the AI adoption dial accross Ireland.

LIVE

/ Live Events

The flagship national roadshow and supporting webinars.

DOING

/ Doing Sprints

Hands-on delivery, 1:1 support, in-company sessions, AI build sprints.

NETWORK

/ Network System

The sharing circle — board-level peer learning, year round.

HUB

/ Hub

On-demand library — case studies, playbooks, watch anytime.

SUPPORTS

/ Support Assist

Mapping supports to the SMEs that need them.

Sector tracks

Manufacturing
Agri-Food & Dairy
Retail & Hospitality
Construction
Logistics
Professional Services

The Pioneers

The business AI pioneers willing to share.

AI Action is supported by senior business owners and leaders who have deployed AI at the highest level and are willing to share what they've learned.

Dr. Elena Alikhachkina

Dr. Elena Alikhachkina

Founder, Infofluence

4× Fortune 200 Board AI-governance advisor x4 - Chief AI Officer (Roche, J&J, Danone, GSK) Author of AI Oversight.

Stephen Browne

Stephen Browne

MD, IO Resource / Altamar Ventures

Retail-tech operator and SME investor.

Christina Russell

Christina Russell

AI Pioneer OLIVER Ireland

AI deployment at the Media coalface.

Barry Prost

Barry Prost

Founder, Rent a Recruiter

AI in global hiring and employer branding.

Niall O'Sullivan

Niall O'Sullivan

Founder, Zellor AI

Serial founder; built & sold Arconics.

Nuno Pedro

Nuno Pedro

Ex-VP Consumer & Performance, Adidas · EVP Calvin Klein

Vanessa Wainwright

Vanessa Wainwright

Founder, Abodoo

AI-powered global skills intelligence.

Kathryn Hutcheson

Kathryn Hutcheson

Operations @ oac snacks

x PepsiCo - AI x Supply Chain

Cara Doyle

Cara Doyle

Head of Digital Content & GenAI, Mark Anthony Brands International

Digital transformation & global content leadership.

Shaje Ganny

Shaje Ganny

President, Swiss AI Academy

Barry Fitzpatrick

Barry Fitzpatrick

Founder & Convener, AI Action

Strategy & national delivery.

Dan Lenehan

Dan Lenehan

Founder, AI Shop Assistant

AI shop assistant bringing in-store expertise online; presented at OpenAI’s SME AI Accelerator.

Stuart McCaul

Stuart McCaul

CEO, Big Red Cloud

AI for bookkeeping & payroll — a trusted second pair of eyes.

Alan Thornton

Alan Thornton

Founder, ai-compliance.app

Building accountable AI infrastructure.

+ a growing community

Join the Pioneers

Irish business leaders stepping up to help others.

Get involved

Two doors. One movement.

Our SME needs help

Let us help you.

Join the next AI Action / Live event and learn from owners who have already done it or request to join a Workshop / AI Build Sprint (Limited availability)

I can help

Share what worked.

If you've deployed AI in your business, the good, the bad and the ugly — SMEs needs to hear from you. Step forward as an AI Action Pioneer.

Prefer email? Reach us at team@aiaction.ie