G7 Industry, Digital and Technology Ministers’ Statement on AI Adoption Blueprint for Small and Medium Enterprises

montreal, canada

background and background

1. Our G7 Industry, Digital Technology (IDT) Ministers met in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to consider practical measures to accelerate the safe, responsible and reliable use of artificial intelligence (AI) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in our respective economies. In response to the June 2025 promise, G7 Leaders’ Statement on AI for ProsperityHere we present concrete actions that businesses, business organizations, and policymakers can take broadly to create the conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises, including micro-enterprises, to access, adopt, and leverage AI in ways that increase value and productivity.
2. We recognize AI as a transformative, general-purpose technology with the potential to bring significant benefits to economies and societies. As we continue to work to reduce negative externalities, protect personal data and respect intellectual property rights, and strengthen security, widespread adoption of AI, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises, is key to realizing this potential. The use of AI by small and medium-sized businesses is rapidly increasing, but the pace of adoption is slower than that of large enterprises as they face clear barriers that require targeted measures. Efforts by governments, businesses, and other organizations to overcome barriers for small businesses will accelerate the positive impact of this technology.
3. We emphasize that realizing the potential of AI will require widespread adoption of AI across and within sectors, as well as achieving productivity gains at the enterprise level. We recognize the importance of supporting small and medium-sized businesses in their efforts to integrate AI into their business strategies and core and support functions, and engaging a broader workforce to effectively use, interact with, and innovate with AI models and systems across a wide range of applications.
4. We believe it would be beneficial to develop a dynamic, self-sustaining and resilient AI adoption ecosystem that integrates SMEs across the AI ​​value chain and enhances their AI innovation. We will partner with private sector leaders to lead this effort. Small and medium-sized enterprises can play a critical role in building and shaping these ecosystems, by becoming early adopters of AI and sharing lessons learned, addressing market gaps with new AI products and services, and supporting collaborative AI adoption and commercialization within their sectors and industries. Startups, in particular, can play a key role in building a dynamic, SMB-friendly ecosystem and delivering targeted AI solutions tailored to the needs of SMBs.
5. We recognize that the needs and profiles of small and medium-sized businesses vary widely by region, industry, size, digital maturity, and growth aspirations. Therefore, AI adoption efforts for small businesses can range widely in complexity and ambition, from acquiring off-the-shelf generative AI products to customizing AI models to suit business needs. From building basic AI literacy to maintaining expanded internal capabilities and skills. From piloting targeted use cases to comprehensive AI deployment across business functions. of G7 OECD Discussion Paper: AI adoption by SMEs It provides information on diffusion patterns and enablers of AI adoption, as well as tools such as classification of AI adopters that can help governments tailor policy measures to specific SME profiles. We encourage active communication and cooperation between governments and SMEs to address the wide range of needs of SMEs and enable effective implementation.
6. we welcome SME AI Adoption Blueprint. Developed by the Office of the President of Canada with input from G7 partners. We provide concrete examples of AI deployment use cases across the G7 to highlight high-impact policy actions and inform choices for governments and small businesses. We believe this resource will help lower the barriers small businesses face when adopting and commercializing AI.
7. Initiatives to accelerate AI adoption in SMEs build on the report of the Italian G7 Presidency in 2024 Factors and challenges driving AI adoption and development in enterprises, especially micro and small businesses.. We welcomed the contributions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Canada's three national AI institutes (Amii, Mila, and Vector Institute) to inform the development of the Blueprint. We also welcome your insights. AI and small businesses Workshop to be held in May 2025. Sponsored by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Community Business Development Corporation, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association, and the OECD.

Policy recommendations

8. Access to the right infrastructure is essential to support the development and deployment of AI. Connectivity, compute and storage, and high-quality datasets are some of the key factors. However, it is important to note that currently provided infrastructure does not always meet the access and affordability needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Therefore, we believe that the following points are of value:

   • Continue public and private investment in reliable, high-speed broadband infrastructure, with a particular focus on building infrastructure in communities with low or inadequate coverage, by increasing internet speeds, improving connection quality, and lowering prices to help accelerate AI adoption and improve opportunities for participation in broader digital transformation.
   • Accelerate public and private investment in AI computing and cloud infrastructure, including shared infrastructure, with a particular focus on improving affordability, availability, and competitiveness. This increases the availability of computing and cloud resources on terms and costs that better suit small businesses' constraints and budgets, and facilitates the emergence of services that unlock growth for small businesses while fostering healthy competition.
   • Increase the availability of high-quality, privacy-preserving, and intellectual property-respecting datasets, including sector-specific datasets that are essential for training AI models and help accelerate AI adoption and innovation in small and medium-sized businesses. Access to sector-specific datasets (providing anonymized and anonymized datasets where relevant) is particularly important to support high-risk areas such as healthcare, finance, and critical infrastructure, where accuracy, reliability, confidentiality, and privacy are essential. To achieve these goals, it is important to build and invest in needs-identified public-private partnerships.
   • Explore how open-source and open-weight AI models and systems can help lower adoption and experimentation barriers and administrative burdens for small and medium-sized businesses, including leveraging a broader developer talent pool and making it easier to adapt and reuse solutions in new environments. We also note that standardized solutions can help support these objectives. We also affirm the need for these models and systems, and the ecosystems that support them, to be responsibly managed and well-maintained to foster their continued relevance.

9. Successful AI implementation at the enterprise level requires awareness of AI and its opportunities, strong leadership, consistent planning, and alignment with the enterprise's overall business strategy. Therefore, we encourage businesses and industry organizations to invest in AI and data literacy across their organizations, including leadership, to facilitate multidimensional decision-making, engage and empower employees and their representatives, improve responsiveness to change, and improve predictability of return on investment. Note that AI adoption roadmaps (including sector-specific roadmaps) can guide value-based adoption and alignment with business objectives, and pilots and phased deployments can reduce risk and support scaling. We believe in the value of fostering a conducive business culture, supported by effective change management and evaluation, and open to AI experimentation and collaboration across business functions. We also recognize the importance of raising awareness of the benefits of AI use cases among small and medium-sized businesses, while fostering open and transparent conversations to overcome associated obstacles and financial considerations. We also highlight that ecosystem activities such as peer learning, workshops, conferences, and events can disseminate best practices among small businesses and startups.
10. Upskilling, reskilling, and talent development are essential for small and medium-sized businesses to effectively and responsibly integrate AI. It’s important to empower employees with the knowledge and confidence to embrace AI responsibly, adapt their roles, and drive innovation across their workflows. The rapid pace of AI innovation is creating a wealth of high-quality learning opportunities. We emphasize the importance of supporting programs that combine foundational learning with role-specific training, including operational and technical needs specific to specific sectors and populations, and in particular those that connect small and medium-sized enterprises to universities and research centers by directly embedding AI talent in-house. We emphasize the value for small and medium-sized businesses to foster a culture of continuous learning and have employees actively involved in shaping AI implementation in the workplace. This empowers employees rather than displacing them in the age of AI. We recognize the value of ensuring equal opportunity by encouraging women and communities left behind by globalization to participate in this process. We also encourage public bodies, companies and commercial organizations to create shared spaces that connect small and medium-sized enterprises with the most relevant training tailored to their specific needs.
11. Expanding financial support mechanisms for SMEs, including public-private partnerships, is important to address the barriers to capital access that SMEs face when implementing AI. Governments, businesses and business organizations should work together to foster the development and competitive markets for innovative AI-based products and services that meet the needs of SMEs, including through research and development and support for SME-focused innovation hubs. We encourage sector initiatives and networks that, when implemented consistently with applicable law, can pool the resources of small and medium-sized enterprises to create economies of scale, such as through shared services models, joint procurement, learning, collective purchasing of AI licenses and access to cloud infrastructure, and joint hiring of expertise. Finally, we believe there is value in leveraging trusted intermediaries such as chambers of commerce, research and innovation centres, industry and sector associations, credit unions and local development banks to help small and medium-sized enterprises navigate the AI ​​ecosystem and accelerate AI adoption. For example, bundling financial support and advisory services.
12. A pro-innovation environment, combined with clear and practical guidance on regulation and governance, is essential for a level playing field and enables effective and responsible AI adoption by small and medium-sized businesses. Failing to address concerns about legal and reputational risks could prevent companies from taking full advantage of AI and could lead to AI being deployed in inappropriate ways. As SMEs face these risks with fewer resources, we support the development of SME-friendly toolkits and guidance based on best practices, such as those recognized through the Hiroshima AI process. Governments and regulators may wish to support the development of standards by promoting frameworks that take into account the operating realities of small and medium-sized enterprises. Enhancing the compatibility of AI governance frameworks across borders will foster clarity and reduce compliance burdens for small and medium-sized businesses.