Almost everything written about AI is written by someone selling a tool. These pages are too, with one difference: they also say when you should choose something else, or nothing at all. That is not modesty. Advice that always lands on me is not advice.
Comparing tools
ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot for SMEs
Two very different products with almost the same promise. This is the difference that matters in practice.
Make, n8n or Zapier
Three tools that look alike and charge very differently. The choice depends on volume and on who maintains it.
AI agent or automation
The word agent gets attached to everything. This is the difference that decides what you should build.
Choosing and costs
What an AI consultant costs in the Netherlands
Hourly rates say little as long as nobody says what you get. This is what really drives the price.
AI agency, freelancer or do it yourself
All three can be right. It depends on your size, your pace and who maintains it afterwards.
Best tools
Best AI tools for SMEs in 2026
Not the longest list but the shortest: four categories, in the order in which they pay for themselves.
Best AI tools for accountants and bookkeeping firms
The gain is not in the bookkeeping but in the preparation: case files, documents and correspondence.
Rules and risk
May you put customer data into ChatGPT
The answer does not depend on the tool but on what you have arranged around it.
AI Act for SMEs
First the good news: the 2 August 2026 deadline has moved. The obligation that already applies is a different one.