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    AI is a Jagged Frontier

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    Mike New
    February 14, 20265 min read3 views0
    AI is a Jagged Frontier

    The biggest AI mistake SMEs are making in 2026? Doing nothing and calling it 'being cautious'. AI experiments are delivering 20-40% efficiency gains in pockets.

    The biggest AI mistake SMEs are making in 2026? Doing nothing and calling it "being cautious".

    AI experiments are delivering 20–40% efficiency gains in pockets. Why are so many businesses choosing to sit this out?

    There are almost no 10 year AI experts yet. That's good news if you're an SME: the advantage goes to whoever learns fastest, not whoever has the biggest budget.

    According to research and commentary from Ethan Mollick (Wharton Professor), we're on what he calls the "jagged frontier" of AI. Some things work incredibly well. Others fall over completely. It's messy, undefined, and moving fast. That's why you test small and not bet the company.

    And that's exactly why waiting is dangerous.

    Most SME owners tell themselves:

    • "We'll figure AI out later."
    • "Once best practice is clear, we'll move."

    Here's the problem: Best practice doesn't exist yet — it's evolving.

    There are no true experts who've "figured it all out". Expertise is being created in real time by the people who are willing to test, learn, and adapt faster than the business next to them.

    Right now, learning speed beats experience.

    This is actually good news for SMEs.

    Big companies are stuck in:

    • Committees
    • Risk reviews
    • Procurement cycles

    SMEs aren't.

    You don't need an AI strategy deck. You don't need an internal AI hire. You don't need to "get it perfect".

    For most $2–15m revenue service businesses, the best AI 'strategy' right now is a 30–90 day profit-focused experiment on one process, then doubling down on what works:

    • One messy process
    • One commercial bottleneck
    • A willingness to learn by doing
    • Then solving it using AI

    That's how AI expertise is formed right now.

    AI won't destroy your business. But a competitor who learns faster than you might.

    Question: What's one part of your business you could start learning from this month instead of waiting for clarity?