Yesterday I sat down with a director from a well-known Malaysian company, and our conversation naturally turned to AI Agents for SMEs.
From a financial perspective, we both agreed that 2026 marks the beginning of the AI Agent era for ordinary businesses—especially what I refer to as street SMEs.
In the past, only larger companies could budget for a dedicated IT Manager, or even full teams covering IT, PR, multimedia, data, and automation.
Now, even micro-enterprises can access equivalent capabilities through AI Agents, but at a fraction of the traditional operational cost.
In AINNA's context, the numbers are compelling: a server costs around RM100 per year, while session-based LLM usage can range from free to roughly RM80 depending on consumption.
That means a small SME can deploy AI Agents across IT, marketing, finance, customer service, content, and operations—all while keeping overheads predictable and minimal.
What once required a full department is now accessible to a street SME, at a cost that delivers clear financial value.
