AI for Growth
Contact usI'm an SME

Insights and Events

Practical guidance for UK businesses adopting AI. No jargon, no hype.

Articles, case studies, news, and events from AI for Growth — written for business owners, not tech teams. Filter by category or browse everything below.

Start here

Articles · 20 April 2026 · Nick Harding

What AI for Growth actually is (and what it isn't)

The honest version of what AI for Growth offers, who it's for, and what it won't pretend to be. The right starting point for anyone new to the initiative.

Read the article →

Articles · 20 August 2026 · AI for Growth

Don't worry about which AI tool. Worry about this instead

Julian Tan, BT's Group Director of Corporate Strategy, explains why which AI tool you use matters far less than most small businesses think, and what actually determines whether AI helps your business.

Read the article →

Articles · 19 August 2026 · AI for Growth

The 90-day AI learning plan you can build in one prompt

Ask Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini to build you a personal 90-day AI learning plan: your current level, your goal, a weekly time commitment, and weekly check-ins. Nick Harding, CEO of Fifty One Degrees, explains why it works.

Read the article →

Articles · 13 August 2026 · AI for Growth

How your small business actually gets found by LLMs like ChatGPT (and why the window is now)

ChatGPT has 900 million weekly users. Here's the actual before/after that makes your website citable by LLMs, plus a checklist you can run today.

Read the article →

Articles · 7 August 2026 · AI for Growth

AI security on no budget: the one thing that actually matters

No security team, no audit budget? Start with a free AI security check, then fix the one licensing mistake that causes most real-world risk, according to Fifty One Degrees' Nick Harding.

Read the article →

Articles · 4 August 2026 · AI for Growth

Is AI actually worth it if you're a small business?

Is AI actually worth it for a small business? Nick Harding, CEO of Fifty One Degrees, makes the case for why being small is a speed advantage, not a limitation.

Read the article →

Articles · 30 July 2026 · AI for Growth

You don't need to hire an AI person: here's what you actually need

You don't need to hire a data scientist for AI adoption. Nick Harding explains why one technically-minded team member, a small budget, and a regular check-in beats hiring a specialist.

Read the article →

Articles · 27 July 2026 · AI for Growth

Why AI training doesn't stick (and the "waves in the ocean" model that does)

AI training fails in small businesses because it's treated as a one-off event. Nick Harding explains the "waves in the ocean" model and four concrete mechanisms that actually make training stick.

Read the article →

Events · 15 July 2026 · AI for Growth

Webinar, 12 Aug 2026: Quantexa's 5 responsible AI principles

On 12 August, Quantexa joins the AI for Growth community for a free webinar on responsible AI: five practical principles for building AI you can actually trust.

Read the article →

Articles · 13 July 2026 · AI for Growth

Is Your Business Using AI Safely? Here's How to Check

Most UK small businesses using AI have no security practices in place. Find out what to look for and how to check in under 10 minutes.

Read the article →

Events · 3 July 2026 · AI for Growth

Webinar, 16 July 2026: AI for sales & marketing

Nick Harding of Fifty One Degrees ran a free AI for Growth webinar showing live how he uses Claude, Attio and AI-driven search to grow revenue without growing headcount. Watch the recording and get the key takeaways.

Read the article →

Articles · 23 June 2026 · AI for Growth

The three free AI tools built for UK small businesses

Most AI tools are built for enterprise teams with big budgets. These three are built for UK small businesses, and they're free: an AI Strategy Generator, a Reskilling Navigator, and an AI Security Healthcheck.

Read the article →

News · 18 May 2026 · Nick Harding

UK SMEs using AI are saving 5 hours a week. Here's what they're actually doing.

New research shows UK small businesses using AI save over 5 hours a week. Here's what they're actually using it for, and how to get started.

Read the article →

Articles · 20 April 2026 · Nick Harding

Five things UK SMEs are already using AI for right now

Customer enquiries, first drafts, scheduling, summarising, stock alerts. Five practical use cases, each with an honest assessment of where they fall short.

Read the article →

Articles · 20 April 2026 · Nick Harding

Is your business ready for AI? The UK SME readiness guide

A practical AI readiness guide for UK small business owners: seven honest questions and a simple three-stage model to work out where you stand with AI and what to do next.

Read the article →

Got a story to share?

If AI has made a real difference to your business, we want to hear about it.

AI for Growth actively looks for real examples from UK businesses — what you tried, what worked, what didn't, and what you'd do differently. The stories that are most useful to other business owners are the honest ones: not the polished success stories, but the ones that include the bit where it didn't quite go to plan.

Case studies are published with your permission and reviewed before publication. Getting in touch doesn't commit you to anything.

Get in touch

Stay up to date

Sign up to the AI for Growth newsletter.

New articles, case studies, and events — as they happen. No commitment, no set frequency.

We'll use your email to send you AI for Growth updates. Read our privacy policy.

Ready to go further?

Join the AI for Growth SME Community. Free, friendly, and built for UK businesses adopting AI.

Join the SME Community