AI adoption is going to happen sooner rather than later, but its overall progress, if you can call it that is hiding a serious structural gap that directly undermines the competitiveness of Dutch SMEs.

The CBS AI Monitor for this year suggests that 22.7% of the Dutch companies have installed at least one application based on AI an increase from the 14% figure that was reported previously. Nevertheless, this national advancement not only conceals a significant gap but also reveals a big difference among large and small businesses. Large firms are adopting AI at a staggering rate of 59%, while small companies still lag far behind, with only 18% or less. This disparity is not merely a numerical one; it is a strategic risk for the country’s economic support its SMEs.

The Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) declares that the highest adopters of AI and therefore the ones contributing to national gains are high-tech, large-scale, and fully digitally developed companies that can implement AI very fast. The small businesses, in contrast, encounter difficulties because of their limited finances, unclear purposes, and partial digital development.
This situation is also manifesting at the European level. The EU Digital Decade 2024 Report states that the Netherlands is still ahead of the EU AI adoption average (13.4% vs 8% in 2023), however, the easing of the momentum is perceived in that many SMEs are unable to convert trial runs into business profits.

The concern is supported by academic research. A 2025 study published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change reveals that the so-called “digital divide” is getting more pronounced between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe: while large companies are incorporating AI in different processes, many small organizations are either completely slow at adopting or have isolated tools like chatbots, basic automation, and analytics installed without the required data infrastructure or governance for the intended impact. Thus, they fall into a trap of inefficiency: the cost to serve is high, decision-making is slow, the company is more prone to suffer during disruptions and there is little room for innovation. If the competitive pressure is too much, then the SMEs who delay AI will lose the competition to the data-driven companies structurally. For Dutch SMEs leaders, AI is not an option anymore nor a trial; it has turned out to be a must-have in terms of competitiveness, customer loyalty, and operational resilience. The bright side is that significant progress doesn’t have to be synonymous with huge enterprise-level investments. What the SMEs actually need is a very practical and business-oriented starting point:

• A governance model that is not heavy to operate and that guarantees AI to be readable, secure, and compliant, particularly when regulatory demands keep increasing, is enforced.

This way of treating the matter lets Small and Medium Enterprises quicken the adoption process and at the same time handle risks in an efficient and inexpensive manner.
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