Survey Reveals AI Adoption Gap: 60% of SMEs Plan No Adoption vs. Enterprise Dominance

Laxus Inc. (the company) conducted a survey of business professionals nationwide to understand the actual usage of AI tools and features in business operations, focusing on differences by company size and location.

AI Adoption: 64.7% in Large Enterprises vs. 23.7% in SMEs (2.7x Gap)

The most prominent finding is the 'AI adoption gap' based on company size. Combining responses for 'actively using,' 'partially using,' and 'experimenting/testing,' the adoption rate reached 64.7% for large enterprises with over 5,001 employees, compared to only 23.7% for SMEs with 1–300 employees—a 2.7x difference.

Specifically, in large enterprises, 34.9% responded they are 'actively using AI (across multiple departments/operations),' indicating AI has moved beyond experimental pilot projects into full-scale implementation.

Conversely, in SMEs, the 23.7% adoption rate suggests implementation is not sufficiently advanced. Even among those using AI, it is often limited to specific departments or tasks, implying they have not reached full business integration.

Larger companies find it easier to secure the human resources, budget, and internal structure needed for AI adoption. SMEs, even if they recognize the need, often struggle to define methods or areas for implementation.

35.7% of Large Enterprises Actively Use AI; 60% of SMEs Have No Plans

Among enterprises with over 5,001 employees, 35.7% are 'actively using AI across multiple departments/operations,' showing widespread integration.

On the other hand, 59.0%—about 60%—of SMEs with 1–300 employees reported they have 'no plans to adopt/do not feel the necessity.' This reveals a significant gap in the recognition of the need for AI and the organizational capacity to adopt it.

To expand AI usage among SMEs, presenting concrete use cases and clear benefits, as well as providing support to lower entry hurdles, is essential.

Metropolitan Areas Lead AI Adoption; Over 60% in Regional Areas Plan No Adoption

Geographical analysis shows AI usage is concentrated in major metropolitan areas. 'Actively using AI (across multiple departments/operations)' was reported by 24.1% of respondents in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, compared to only 6.0% in other regional areas.

For 'partially using AI (specific departments/purposes only),' metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya) reached 19.3%, Kanagawa/Saitama/Chiba reached 19.0%, and prefectures with government-designated cities reached 20.8%. In contrast, regional areas reached only 11.2%, indicating that AI usage is centered in urban areas.

The percentage reporting 'no plans to adopt/do not feel the necessity' was highest in regional areas at 62.0%, significantly exceeding the 35.5% in metropolitan areas. This shows the AI adoption gap is expanding based on location as well as corporate scale.