Skip to content
Enterprise Europe Network

AI’s entry into practice is hampered by the “operability trap”

23.04. 2026
line-arrow AI’s entry into practice is hampered by the “operability trap”

Press Release – Prague, April 22, 2026 – The latest survey by IPSOS and Tempo Ventures for the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Sole Traders of the Czech Republic (AMSP CR) reveals an alarming situation: while market leaders are using artificial intelligence for growth, one-fifth of micro- and self-employed businesses are ignoring the topic and living under the dangerous illusion that the transformation does not concern them. The main barrier is not the fear of change, but the fact that business owners spend 80% of their time on operations and only have weekends for strategy. The survey is a key part of AMSP’s main annual project “Year of AI 2026”.

Czech entrepreneurs are currently most crushed by rising costs (51%) and high administrative burdens (31%). The paradox is that although AI promises relief in these areas, business owners are so absorbed in daily operations that they do not have the capacity to implement it.

Although 82% of respondents are familiar with ChatGPT, 31% of companies cite lack of knowledge as a major barrier. The qualitative research shows that it is not ignorance of the technology, but a so-called lack of imagination.

The data confirms a relentless trend: while market leaders are innovating, a fifth of micro-businesses and self-employed people are ignoring AI and living under the illusion that the transformation does not affect them.

“The data confirms a relentless trend: the digital divide is widening. This ‘sleep in analogue’ can be fatal for the smallest players. We have a paradox here – companies are drowning in paper, but are reluctant to use the lifeline of automation,” says Josef Jaroš, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AMSP ČR .

The tool of first choice remains ChatGPT ( 82% supported proficiency), which has become synonymous with AI.

Data security concerns (27%) are addressed pragmatically by companies: they simply don’t put sensitive data into AI. Most of the market (37%) relies on formal prohibitions or guidelines.

In HR, companies don’t see AI as a replacement for humans, but as a relief for existing employees. AI is meant to help handle more work in the same workforce, not to make people redundant.

“It is clear that the introduction of modern technologies and the adoption of artificial intelligence tools is of strategic importance for SMEs. According to a Mastercard study, eight out of 10 small businesses in the US improved their operational efficiency after adopting AI tools, and 54 percent saw a positive impact on business growth. Information from abroad also confirms that these tools can save significant time. And time is one of the things that entrepreneurs miss the most. They can use the saved time to develop their business,” says Jana Lvová, CEO of Mastercard for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

“The research basically follows similar European surveys. SMEs have the advantage of speed against corporates and the disadvantage of limited capital, and most importantly, they are an extremely inhomogeneous segment where a different conversation takes place with a development studio and another with a paint shop. The most important finding for me is that the main barrier is not ignorance of AI, but ‘lack of imagination’, and no webinar can solve that, only a concrete demonstration on their own processes,” says Jan Janča, Owner & Executive Chairman, Cognito Digital Agency.

Research methodology

The Year of AI 2026 project combined a quantitative survey by Ipsos of a sample of 201 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (February 2026) with a qualitative online group discussion by Tempo Ventures (March 2026 ).

Source.

Similar news