Australian SME study models up to A$93 billion in annual value from wider AI use

The Tech Council of Australia published research on October 22 estimating that wider AI adoption among small and medium-sized businesses could generate up to A$93 billion in additional annual economic value. Delwood Advisory conducted the analysis with support from Google, Employment Hero and Deputy. An average firm moving from no AI use to broad deployment could gain A$136,000 in annual productivity value, according to the study.

Delwood’s central scenario puts SME adoption at 53% over roughly five years, comprising 27% with limited use and 26% using AI broadly. A lower scenario, in which SMEs reach existing large-enterprise adoption levels, produces an estimated A$61 billion annual uplift. The calculations combine assumed adoption changes with research on productivity effects. Their hourly productivity ratios hold employment levels stable, and the report labels the estimates indicative. The amounts represent modeled additional value added under those conditions.

The adoption baseline comes from National AI Centre data covering the second half of 2025. The report’s tables show 26% of firms with fewer than 200 employees using AI, including 5% with broad use; the launch announcements round overall uptake to about one in four. Charts describe a survey base of roughly 400 respondents monthly. Regional adoption stood at 16%, compared with 30% in metropolitan areas in that earlier dataset.

The industry body identifies construction, hospitality and retail among sectors with substantial adoption gaps between smaller and larger firms. Workflows under discussion include preparing quotations, organizing rosters, placing orders and handling payroll compliance. Businesses face limited understanding of AI, skills shortages, uncertainty over investment returns and concerns about security and reliability. The report calls for affordable practical training, specialist advice and examples suited to particular industries, with additional attention to businesses outside major cities.

Its benefit figures draw on separate earlier studies. A Salesforce study cited from 2024 found that 94% of its AI-using SME respondents reported increased productivity. The 54% reporting higher job satisfaction comes from Deputy’s 2025 data on Australian SME employees using AI, with that chart defining SMEs as businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Deputy’s wider study drew on 1,500 anonymous shift-worker responses across Australia, Britain and the United States. The measures describe reported experiences across different samples and business-size definitions.

Skills will feature in the research launch program in Sydney. The Tech Council plans a free AI x SME event at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour on Friday, October 23, the day after the report’s release. Google says it will deliver practical workshops giving local teams experience with AI tools. The scheduled event combines demonstrations and workshops focused on everyday business operations.

Employment Hero’s earlier account of restaurant chain El Jannah shows the kind of hiring workflow technology providers are developing. The case study, published in September 2025 and updated in August 2026, describes matching applicants against job criteria, structured screening and automated messages as candidates move through recruitment. Managers had previously faced large volumes of applications while opening restaurants requiring crews of 60 to 80 people. The provider presents repeatable recruitment processes and faster shortlisting as outcomes of that deployment.

Google’s Australian training activity also predates this research. It introduced AI Essentials locally in May 2024 as a self-paced course requiring no programming background. The original announcement described practical exercises in generating ideas and presentations, researching decisions, summarizing emails and drafting replies. Instruction came from Google’s AI experts, and participants could earn a Google certificate on completion.