Facing AI, Walloon SMEs Risk Falling Behind
While large corporations are rapidly accelerating their adoption of artificial intelligence, many Walloon SMEs are still struggling to keep up.
Not for lack of interest, but because they face a paradox: everyone talks about AI, yet few know how to approach it practically without exploding budgets, internal expertise, or a clear vision.
This gap creates a real risk: as large groups automate, optimize, and leverage data more effectively, the competitiveness gap widens. For SMEs, catching up can quickly become a daunting challenge.
Well-Known… but Underestimated Barriers
When talking with leaders or operational teams, the same obstacles keep coming up: lack of internal skills, accumulated technological debt, limited budgets, and a pace of change too fast to follow comfortably.
But the main barrier is not technical it’s organizational.
AI is still seen as “too complex,” “too expensive,” or “not a short-term priority.”
The result: many companies postpone the topic… until they realize their competitors are moving ahead faster.
Des usages ponctuels, mais peu structurés
ChatGPT to draft a newsletter, Midjourney to illustrate a post, a predictive tool to estimate sales: AI is already present in many companies. Yet these uses remain isolated, without integration into a coherent digital strategy.
Without a clear structure, such experiments can quickly become time-consuming and unprofitable. The real challenge for SMEs is no longer to “test” AI, but to integrate it intelligently into their business model.
Failing to embrace AI today means accepting:
- lower productivity,
- increased operational overload,
- less informed decision-making, and
- growing difficulties in recruiting and retaining talent.
AI is not a futuristic gadget. It is an operational lever: automating repetitive tasks, improving service quality, speeding up analysis, and reducing human error.
Companies that adopt it gain speed, accuracy, and improved working conditions. Those that hesitate risk seeing their margins and attractiveness erode.
Le défi : passer de l’intuition à la stratégie
Adopting AI is above all about knowing why you are doing it. Automate a process, improve customer relationships, personalize an experience, optimize a marketing campaign?
Each goal requires a different approach, specific tools, and a clear integration strategy. It is precisely this lack of framing that prevents SMEs from taking the next step: without a clear strategy, initiatives multiply but struggle to generate real value.
Once you have identified your segments, tailor your content to the characteristics of each group. For a concrete (and somewhat stereotypical) example, if one of your segments is Gen Z, you might adopt an informal tone and use acquisition channels like TikTok or Snapchat. Conversely, for an older market segment, a formal tone and more traditional communication channels such as email or phone calls may be more appropriate.
When AI is involved in content production, the challenge is not just “how to brief it effectively,” but how to ensure that the message remains consistent with the brand, the target audience, and business objectives.
The issue is therefore not technical, but strategic: making sure that every communication, even when co-produced with AI, maintains the right tone, intent, and direction.
The challenge is not technological; it is strategic.
ChatGPT a dit :
Contrary to a common misconception, SMEs don’t need complex AI projects or custom models to get started.
What they need is a method:
- a quick assessment to identify the real levers,
- low-risk pilot projects,
- proven tools rather than “exotic” solutions,
- targeted training to strengthen internal AI maturity.
The goal isn’t to transform everything.
The goal is to generate value quickly, without disrupting operations or committing to unaffordable budgets.
Une approche pragmatique et humaine
We believe in AI that is useful, simple, and integrated—not in technological excess.
Training teams, securing data, automating processes without distorting the customer relationship: this is the approach we implement with SMEs.
Because beyond algorithms, digital transformation is ultimately about people, vision, and guidance.
Understanding where someone stands in their relationship with your brand remains essential for communicating effectively. A visitor discovering your company does not expect the same as an already convinced customer. The challenge is therefore to provide clear, useful, and progressive information, without overwhelming or losing the user. We will revisit this approach to guidance in a future article.
SMEs don’t need to “do AI” just to exist. They need to know where and how AI can truly serve their business.
In a context where organizations are looking to structure their approach and give meaning to their digital tools, the real challenge is to balance efficiency, coherence, and long-term vision. The companies that succeed are those that manage to integrate technology appropriately, serving the way they work rather than the other way around. It is this ability to combine clarity, method, and rigor that now makes the difference in digital maturity.
AI is no longer a futuristic option.
For SMEs, the question is no longer “Should we do it?” but “How much longer can we wait?”
AI is not a distant innovation project; it is a short-term competitiveness requirement, just like quality, productivity, or customer relationships.
Those who act progressively gain a head start.
Those who delay will face an ever-widening gap.
Curious and creative, she loves to dive deep into brands to uncover their true essence — through words, visuals, and bold ideas. For her, great content is the one that makes people react, think, or smile.
