AI adoption in financial services and IT is accelerating—here's what it means for you
AI adoption is transforming financial services and IT sectors across Belgium and the Netherlands in 2026, creating real opportunities for small service firms to boost productivity and margins.
Why 2026 is the turning point for AI in your sector
If you're running a consultancy, IT firm, or financial services company with 5-25 employees, you've probably heard plenty of AI hype. But 2026 is different—this is when AI moves from "nice to have" to "must-have" for staying competitive.
The momentum is real. Microsoft's ecosystem alone is forecast to generate 2.1 billion euros in the Benelux region by 2026, driven by rapid adoption of cloud-based AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and multi-agent systems. In Belgium and the Netherlands, companies are no longer experimenting—they're implementing. More than a third of European businesses are actively integrating AI, with frontrunners like Denmark and Finland setting the pace.
What does this mean for you? If you're not already thinking about AI as a strategic advantage, your competitors are. The good news is that small firms have an advantage: you can move faster than enterprise clients, test ideas quickly, and integrate AI into your core service delivery before larger players do.
How to use AI to transform your client work (and your margins)
The biggest opportunity right now isn't replacing your team—it's making your team exponentially more productive. Here's where most small service firms are winning with AI in 2026:
Multi-agent systems for complex workflows
Imagine this: a financial services firm needs to analyze a client's spending patterns, pull relevant compliance documentation, and flag risk areas—all manually. It takes hours. With multi-agent AI systems, this entire workflow runs in minutes.
Multi-agent platforms like Databricks are growing 327% in adoption, and they're perfect for small teams handling complex client work. In finance, you can chain together AI agents to handle document retrieval, compliance checks, and customer intent analysis simultaneously. One advisory firm we're seeing do this well set up agents to process client intake, automatically pulling documentation and flagging compliance issues before a human analyst even touches the case.
The result? Their analysts spend their time on strategy and client conversations instead of data gathering. That's how you increase margins without hiring more people.
Copilot for everyday productivity
You don't need fancy AI systems for everything. Microsoft 365 Copilot is handling the fundamentals for thousands of small firms: email analysis, report generation, research summaries, and proposal drafting. One IT consultant we know uses Copilot to summarize client communications and automatically suggest action items—something that used to eat up 30 minutes a day.
The key is training your team to use it effectively. This is what the industry calls "AI fluency"—not just knowing that the tool exists, but actually integrating it into how you work. Start with one or two workflows (email summaries, report writing) and expand from there.
Where to actually start: the one-person approach
Here's practical advice for a 5-25 person firm: assign one "AI champion" on your team. Their job isn't to become an AI expert—it's to:
- Identify your three most time-consuming, repetitive tasks (compliance checks, client reporting, data entry)
- Run a 2-4 week internal pilot with AI tools (start with Copilot)
- Measure the actual time saved with dashboards or simple spreadsheets
- Present results to the team and get buy-in
This is called "dogfooding"—forcing internal use before you pitch it to clients. It gives you real ROI data and teaches your team how to use it without pressure. When you show clients results from your own operations, it's far more credible than a vendor's PowerPoint.
The compliance piece (it's easier than you think)
The EU AI Act is coming, and you'll hear scary stories. But here's the reality for small firms: the rules are actually more flexible for SMEs.
If you're using AI for routine tasks—like email drafting or data summarization—you're in the clear. The stricter rules only apply to "high-risk" AI (like making credit decisions or hiring recommendations). And if you do touch high-risk areas, the EU gives small companies a 16-month extension to get compliant.
Smart move: document what AI tools you're using, for what purpose, and how you're checking quality. One page per tool, updated quarterly. That's enough for compliance. Don't let regulatory anxiety paralyze you—your smaller size is actually an advantage here because you can move fast and document as you go.
Real numbers on ROI
This matters because you need to justify the investment. Here's what we're seeing:
- IT service providers using Copilot for client work are seeing 20-30% time savings on routine tasks, which directly translates to higher margins on fixed-price engagements
- Financial advisory firms shifting from hourly billing to subscription models (powered by AI-driven insights) are seeing better cash flow predictability and higher client retention
- Managed service providers adding AI governance to their offerings are increasing client valuations and deal multiples—some reaching 14-16x EBITDA
The pattern is clear: firms that weaponize AI to improve service quality, not just cut costs, are winning. You're not laying off people—you're freeing them to do higher-value work.
Your next 30 days
- Week 1: Have your team write down their top 5 time-consuming tasks. Pick the top 2 that are repetitive and rules-based.
- Week 2-3: Run a pilot with Microsoft 365 Copilot or a similar tool on those tasks. Have one person lead the test.
- Week 4: Measure what you saved (time, errors, turnaround time) and share results with your team. Plan a rollout.
Don't wait for AI to be "perfect" or for all the uncertainty to clear. The window for early movers is now. Firms that get ahead on AI adoption in 2026 will have a structural cost advantage that's hard to catch up to.
Ready to move forward? Start by auditing your workflows this week. Identify just one process that's eating time and where AI could help. Then test. That's it. The rest follows from there.