From Quick Wins to Lasting Value: How One SME Client Turned AI Experiments into Strategy

AI tools like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, and Gemini are everywhere. For many SMEs, they’ve become useful assistants for everyday tasks—drafting emails, creating reports, or pulling together a marketing post. These quick wins are exciting and can save precious time.

However, tactical wins don’t always translate to long-term business value.

That’s precisely what we saw with one growing business we recently worked with (let’s call them Company X - client anonymity is paramount), which went from experimenting with AI tools to strategically embedding AI—with a significant impact on its growth in a relatively short period of time.

The Starting Point – Tactical Wins

Like many businesses, Company X jumped in early:

• Using ChatGPT to polish client proposals.

• Trialling Co-Pilot for faster presentation building.

• Running meetings through AI transcription tools (albeit in a bit of a clunky way).

The results were positive—less time spent on routine tasks, better efficiency, and fewer late nights.

But when I first chatted with her, the MD mentioned to me:

“We were busier, but not necessarily better. AI was helping with the day-to-day, but it wasn’t shaping our long-term growth. I was pleased but frustrated, on the one hand, AI was making an impact, but I just felt we were only scraping the surface.”

The Strategic Gap – Asking Bigger Questions

Instead of relying on individual tools and ad hoc use, in a follow up session Company X took a step back to ask:

• Where could AI free up capacity for growth?

• Which processes were slowing us down unnecessarily?

• How could AI help us reduce costs or risks?

• Where could AI add real value to clients?

By working through Talisman’s AI Playbook framework, they mapped opportunities across operations, client delivery, and finance—shifting the focus from tools to strategy.

The Outcome – Embedding AI for Growth

Within a few months, Company X moved from tactical experiments to a structured AI approach.

The key changes they made were:

• Automated reporting delivered real-time margin and performance insights.

• AI-powered data analysis uncovered new client opportunities and trends.

• Process automation freed up the equivalent of half a full-time employee, without extra hiring.

The MD summed it up perfectly:

“Before, AI was a clever assistant. Now it’s part of our business model. It’s the difference between shaving minutes off a task and shaping how we grow. I now confidently feel we are harnessing AI, and further integration will be so much easier now we have embedded it into our strategy”

The Takeaway

This journey is not unique. Many SMEs start with the tactical buzz of AI tools like ChatGPT, but the fundamental transformation happens when you move from experimenting to embedding.

At Talisman, that’s exactly what we help you do. Our AI Playbooks, workshops, and tailored programmes are designed to bridge the gap between “AI as a handy tool” and “AI as a driver of competitive advantage.”

Because AI isn’t just about doing the same things faster, it’s about doing better things— strategically, sustainably, and with impact.

Ready to take AI beyond quick wins? Explore our AI Playbooks or Workshops today.