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RESEARCH CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS of NAS of Ukraine (KHARKIV, UKRAINE)

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Liburkina L. M.

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Integrating AI-Agents into the Digital Transformation of Business Processes of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Kuchynskyi V. A., Kuzmynskyi A. M.

Kuchynskyi, Volodymyr A., and Kuzmynskyi, Anton M. (2026) “Integrating AI-Agents into the Digital Transformation of Business Processes of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.” Business Inform 5:148–157.
https://doi.org/10.32983/2222-4459-2026-5-148-157

Section: Information Technologies in the Economy

Article is written in Ukrainian
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UDC 330.341.1:004.8

Abstract:
The article explores the theoretical and practical foundations of digitalizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) through the use of AI agents as a tool for the systematic transformation of business processes. Based on the DESI index and OECD data, it highlights the lag of domestic SMEs compared to Central European indicators of digital maturity and the need to shift from reactive automation to proactive, data-driven management. The article explains the essence of an AI agent as an autonomous system based on large language models (LLMs), capable of planning complex sequences of actions (chain-of-thought reasoning) and integrating with external APIs. Through a comparative analysis of traditional and agent-based AI, it is shown that, unlike narrowly specialized solutions, agent-based systems create a fundamentally new economic logic of automation. The results of an empirical study of 28 domestic SMEs show that 55% of companies are already using AI in marketing, 48% in customer support, but more complex operational tasks remain outside the scope of automation, confirming the mainly tactical nature of current AI implementation in the sector. The key areas of technology application were systematized, including: automating up to 80% of customer inquiries, predictive scoring in marketing, financial accounting in cloud environments (BAS, Xero), and supply chain optimization. A conceptual four-stage model for step-by-step implementation of AI agents in SMEs was proposed (from strategic diagnostics and piloting based on low-code platforms to achieving digital maturity over 18+ months). It was found that integrating autonomous systems allows SMEs to achieve the effect of «scaling without cost increase» and democratizes access to advanced analytics. Despite existing risks of technological dependence (vendor lock-in) and model «hallucinations», AI agents are becoming a strategic factor in boosting competitiveness and institutional learning for businesses in the Industry 4.0 era.

Keywords: SMEs; AI agents; digitalization; digital transformation; business processes; Industry 4.0.

Fig.: 1. Tabl.: 3. Bibl.: 19.

Kuchynskyi Volodymyr A. – Doctor of Sciences (Economics), Associate Professor, Head of the Department, Department of Business Economics and International Economic Relations, National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» (2 Kyrpychova Str., Kharkіv, 61002, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]
Kuzmynskyi Anton M. – Postgraduate Student, Department of Business Economics and International Economic Relations, National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» (2 Kyrpychova Str., Kharkіv, 61002, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]

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