Are small European businesses punching above their weight thanks to AI?

New LinkedIn data shared with Europe in Motion shows that the number of members adding that title to their profile is booming across Europe: +85% in the Netherlands, +69% in the UK, +68% in Spain, +61% in Germany and +49% in France.

At least half of British, German and French small business entrepreneurs say AI is making it easier to break into the market, providing them with capabilities that were once only achievable with large budgets and specialist teams.

Eurostat seems to back this trend: the number of micro-enterprises (companies with fewer than 10 employees) has been steadily growing in recent years.

Most importantly, many small businesses think that artificial intelligence is allowing them to raise their targets and "punch above their weight" by competing with larger brands.

The British are the most enthusiastic (76%), followed by the Spanish (73%), while the French (58%) remain more grounded.

How much do small businesses really use AI?

However, AI adoption isn't happening equally, and, in some cases, it's only surface-level.

In fact, only about a quarter of small business employees use it for advanced tasks, such as data analysis or working with AI agents.

According to the LinkedIn survey, France has the top rate of pro-AI user employees — but it's only 2%, while the lowest advanced uptake is in Italy and Sweden, both with 22%.

Even when it comes to the most basic AI tasks — help with writing emails, summarising notes, online search, etc — some small businesses show quite a low uptake, such as in France (28%) and Italy (30%).

The fact that European businesses somehow struggle to evolve from a digital perspective isn't new: In fact, only 58% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have fewer than 250 employees, have reached a basic level of digital services, according to Eurostat.

"Small businesses are moving faster than large organisations, but speed alone won't win", said LinkedIn's EMEA & LATAM and public policy chief Sue Duke.

"The ones pulling ahead in 2026 use AI to scale their capacity, innovate, and handle the repetitive work," she added. "That frees teams to focus on the human work that creates real advantage: building relationships, solving problems, and making clearer strategic decisions."

A bright future ahead for small businesses?

Uptake challenges aside, small business entrepreneurs remain highly confident that AI will help them meet their revenue targets. The most optimistic are the Germans, with a 78% rate.

The Italians and the Dutch are more cautious, with 60% and 58% rates, respectively.

"SMEs' growth prospects are broadly positive", said the 2025 Eurobarometerabout this business segment. "Since 2021, nearly half of SMEs have reported increased turnover and employment."

"Looking ahead, 67% expect turnover growth and 46% plan to expand their workforce – though most anticipate modest growth below 10% annually," it added. "Start-ups stand out, with nearly one in five projecting growth above 20% per year."

Business owners turned creators: The human touch beyond AI

The good news for us humans is that amid an AI content "invasion" online, most small entrepreneurs want, first and foremost, human voices to build trust with their community.

More concretely, they're investing more money in humans, using not just creators and experts, but also their very own employees.

Spanish respondents record the highest rate (80%) of those pouring more resources into human community‑driven content, followed by the British (77%) and, consistent with seemingly AI-scepticism, the French (75%).

Some entrepreneurs are taking the matter into their own hands: 60% of small French entrepreneurs say they've had to become content creators themselves, 64% in the UK and 53% in Germany.

Short-form video content — like Instagram reels — is broadly the preferred way to engage the community, followed by sponsored content or case studies and white papers.