A national peer-led AI adoption movement for Irish business

Ireland’s 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.

Not selling. Showing and helping.

Will AI take our jobs? Maybe. Will inaction? Definitely.

The challenge

Too many Irish business owners walk out of AI events more confused than when they walked in.

AI is arriving faster than any of us expected. Most Irish 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 — events and webinars that explain what AI is, but never show what it actually does inside a real Irish business.

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

AI Action is how we get that knowledge out.

99.8%of Irish business is SME (two-thirds of workforce) with 40% of Irish jobs exposed to AI disruption (IMF 2026)
17%of small firms use AI, vs 57.7% of large firms (CSO 2025)
82%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 Irish 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 Irish 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 runs a national roadshow of SME peer-led events — Irish 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. Enterprise supports may offset part of the cost; we help you check and apply, and the work never waits on the paperwork.

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 for real. In one week you go from a plan to a working AI tool in your business — tested, with an ROI estimate.

3

Grow

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

The model

One movement. Ten divisions. Built to scale.

AI Action is built as a connected ecosystem — modelled on the way the TED network grew a single brand into many coherent products. Each part reinforces the others, and the whole thing scales across sectors and, in time, across borders.

Engine

/ Live

The flagship national roadshow — the shop window and the front door.

Engine

/ Doing

Hands-on delivery — 1:1 support, in-company sessions, real builds.

Engine

/ Network

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

Engine

/ Hub

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

Public good

/ Supports

Mapping government grants and supports to the SMEs that qualify.

Public good

/ Awards

Recognising real digital-maturity gains — the proof the dial moved.

Public good

/ Day

A National Day of AI Action — one thing every business can do today.

Public good

/ Teen Skills

Schools and hackathons — building the next generation's capability.

Reach

/ Pioneers

The expert practitioner layer — Irish leaders who have done it.

Reach

/ Media

Podcast, video and content — the always-on brand engine.

Sector tracks
  • Manufacturing
  • Agri-Food & Dairy
  • Retail & Hospitality
  • Construction
  • Logistics
  • Professional Services
The Pioneers

The people behind it.

AI Action is led by senior Irish and international business leaders — practitioners who have deployed AI at the highest level and are willing to share what they've learned.

Dr. Elena Alikhachkina

Co-Founder

4× Fortune 200 Chief AI Officer (Roche, J&J, Danone, GSK); board AI-governance advisor; author of AI Oversight.

Stephen Browne

IO Resource / Altamar Ventures

Retail-tech operator and SME investor.

Mick McNeil

Founder & CEO, Deliverance AI

AI deployment at the coalface.

Barry Prost

Founder, Rent a Recruiter

AI in hiring and employer branding.

Vanessa Wainwright

Founder, Abodoo

AI-powered skills intelligence.

Niall O'Sullivan

Founder, Zellor AI

Serial founder; built & sold Arconics.

Barry Fitzpatrick

Founder & Convener

Strategy & national delivery.

+ a growing community

Join the Pioneers

Irish business leaders stepping up to help others.

Get involved

Two doors. One movement.

I need help

Be in the room.

Join the next AI Action / Live event and learn from Irish owners who have already done it. Sign up for the list and we'll let you know when we're near you.

I can help

Share what worked.

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

Prefer email? Reach us at team@aiaction.ie