Research note · September 2026 · about 6 minutes · this is the thinking behind what Cutting Hedge builds
AI gets talked about as if every business is already using it. For most Irish trades businesses — a phone, WhatsApp, a notebook and a van — that isn’t the reality. But it isn’t because they aren’t interested.
The short version
- 80% of Irish SMEs think AI could help their business. Among micro-businesses, a third use none at all.
- Only 7% of Irish business leaders feel very confident in their AI capabilities.
- In construction, under 1% of organisations have AI embedded across the business.
- “Are you using AI?” is the wrong question. “Is there one job you could fix safely this month?” is the right one.
Interested, but not in a position to act
In March 2026, Google and Amárach Research surveyed 400 Irish SMEs. 80% believed AI could positively affect their business, and 65% expected it to help them grow this year. Yet 20% weren’t using it for any business task at all.
The smaller the business, the wider that gap got.
33%
of firms with fewer than ten staff use no AI at all. Among firms with 50–250 staff, it’s 7%.
And it isn’t a lack of interest holding them back. When asked what was, the answers were practical and human.
| What’s stopping Irish SMEs | Share |
|---|---|
| Fear of making mistakes | 30% |
| Lack of skills | 27% |
| Cost | 24% |
| Not sure where to start | 16% |
The same survey found 57% believed they were already behind competitors, and half worried they could be left behind. For a tradesperson, that worry usually sounds simpler: the other lad is getting back to people faster and his quotes look sharper — is that AI?
Low confidence, and a clear ask for practical help
A separate AI Readiness Pulse from ICT Skillnet and AI Ireland, run in August and September 2025, asked Irish business leaders where they stood. 27% had implemented AI tools, another 27% were testing them, and 34% were still planning or researching.
Confidence was thin. Only 7% felt very confident in their organisation’s AI capabilities; more than 60% had slight or no confidence at all.
What people wanted was telling. Practical tools and templates (43%) and real-world use cases (34%) came well ahead of credentials (13%) or mentoring (9%). Nobody is asking for a lecture on artificial intelligence. They want to see it do one useful thing with their own kind of work.
Construction: lots of talk, very little embedded
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ 2025 report gathered more than 2,200 responses from construction professionals worldwide, 48% of them from the UK. It shows how shallow adoption still is.
| Stage of AI use (RICS, 2025) | Share |
|---|---|
| No AI implementation | ~45% |
| Early pilots | 34% |
| Regular use in specific processes | just under 12% |
| Use across multiple processes | 1.5% |
| Embedded across the organisation | less than 1% |
RICS also found nearly three-quarters of companies hadn’t moved beyond initial discussions. These are mostly larger firms with more resources than a sole trader, so it’s a benchmark, not a measurement of Irish tradespeople. But the direction is the same: plenty of AI in the conversation, very little of it running day to day.
A better question than “do you use AI?”
Someone who’s tried ChatGPT twice and someone with a proper process for chasing quotes would both answer “yes.” It tells you nothing. Readiness is about six more specific things.
| What to look at | The question to ask |
|---|---|
| The basics | Is there a working website, a Google Business Profile, a business email, a way to take enquiries, a calendar? |
| Where it hurts | Where are enquiries, quotes, scheduling, paperwork or follow-ups getting delayed? |
| Your information | Are customer details, job notes, photos and prices kept somewhere consistent? |
| Your confidence | Are you comfortable checking what a tool produces and correcting it? |
| What needs your sign-off | Which tasks could affect safety, price, compliance or your reputation if they went wrong? |
| A first job | Is there one narrow, repetitive task that could be improved within 30 days? |
This separates being interested from being ready. You can be keen on AI and not ready for anything complicated because your customer details live across texts, a notebook and your personal phone. And you can know nothing about tech and be perfectly ready for one simple automation because your booking process is already consistent.
Four levels
| 1 — Curious | Interested, but no defined use and no digital process to hang it on. |
| 2 — Experimenting | Uses general tools now and then for writing or admin. |
| 3 — Workflow-ready | Has a stable process that could take one supervised automation. |
| 4 — Scaling | Connected systems, measured results, clear rules about what needs sign-off. |
None of this is about labelling a business modern or old-fashioned. It’s about finding the smallest change that would help you win more of the work that’s already coming your way.
What most trades businesses are ready for first
The right first uses are narrow, visible and easy to keep an eye on.
| First use | Why it fits | What you still check |
|---|---|---|
| Missed-call text-back | Keeps the enquiry alive when you’re driving or on a job | The wording, and what happens with urgent calls |
| Enquiry triage | Collects location, job type, urgency and a good time to call | Anything urgent or safety-related |
| Quote follow-up | Reminds you to chase a quote before the customer goes elsewhere | Timing and tone |
| Voice note to job summary | Turns what you said in the van into a proper record | Names, measurements, materials, dates |
| Customer update drafts | Clearer progress messages | Technical accuracy and anything you’re promising |
| Social post drafts | Turns finished jobs into posts | Permissions, photos and claims |
What it should never do on its own: diagnose a dangerous fault, promise a completion date, approve a price, or give regulated technical advice. Those stay with you.
Help that’s actually useful
Irish business leaders have said plainly that they want practical tools, templates and real examples. InterTradeIreland has launched a survey of 1,200 SMEs across the island to find out what businesses are using, what value they’re getting and what support would help — findings due later in 2026.
What the evidence doesn’t support is selling “AI transformation” to a one-van business. The sensible route is smaller: look at how things work now, pick one job, set it up with clear limits, and check after 30 days whether it’s won you anything.
What this research can’t tell you
These studies measure different people, at different times, with different definitions of “using AI.” They can’t be added together into one Irish figure. The Google study was commissioned by a company that sells AI. The ICT Skillnet survey doesn’t publish its sample size. RICS surveyed construction professionals worldwide, mostly at larger firms. (Every source and its limits: how we check our sources.)
None of them measured tradespeople in Skerries, Rush, Lusk, Loughshinny or Balbriggan. That’s data nobody has yet.
So I’m collecting it
I’m running a short survey asking local tradespeople about the work around the work — calls, messages, quotes, invoices, how much admin time it all takes, and how comfortable they are with digital tools. It takes 6–8 minutes, and leaving your contact details is optional.
Keep reading
- 10 practical ways AI could help Irish trades businesses
- How much could missed calls be costing your trades business?
- Can voice notes replace the tradesperson’s notebook?
- What AI is actually worth paying for in a trades business
Sources
- Carlow County Council — 80% of SMEs say AI can transform their business, but lack of skills keeps adoption rates low (Google / Amárach, 400 Irish SMEs, March 2026)
- ICT Skillnet and AI Ireland — AI Readiness Pulse: what Irish businesses are really saying about AI in 2025
- RICS — Artificial intelligence in construction report (2025)
- InterTradeIreland — InterTradeIreland wants to hear from you: AI and your business (June 2026)