AI adoption among small businesses is no longer a future trend. It’s happening right now, and Ohio organizations are leading the way.
Spectrum News 1 recently featured SkillSpout™ CEO and co-founder Mel McGee in a story about how small and mid-sized businesses are tackling one of the most pressing challenges of our time: not just adopting AI, but actually understanding it.
The piece follows Shelly Stotzer, CEO of the Columbus-based leadership coaching firm Crosworks, who spent nearly 50 years guiding executives through change. When she could not answer her team’s questions about AI, she did something coaches rarely do: she became a student. She brought her entire team to SkillSpout, and we are proud to call Crosworks a client.
Her takeaway? AI did not replace her team’s work. It freed them to do more of it, taking the mental load off transactional tasks so coaches could focus their energy on the people they serve.
That is exactly what we built SkillSpout to do.
The numbers back up the urgency
In 2025, generative AI usage among small businesses jumped from 40% to 58%, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Today, 76% of small businesses are either actively using AI or exploring it. But adoption is not the same as mastery. Nearly 60% of organizational leaders report their company has an AI skills gap, even though they are already investing in training, according to DataCamp’s 2026 State of Data and AI Literacy Report.
That gap is exactly where SkillSpout works.
What makes our approach different?
We do not do generic online courses. SkillSpout delivers personalized training tailored to each organization’s specific needs and roles, offered in two-hour sessions spread over several weeks so it is manageable for busy teams. Our work covers the full arc: strategy to understand where you are and where you want to go, training built around your real workflows and roles, and implementation support to make sure AI actually sticks.
As Mel put it in the piece: “We provide strategy based on where they want to go with AI. Always maintaining human judgment and making sure humans are leading.”
Read the full story
Spectrum News 1 covered SkillSpout’s work with Ohio businesses and the real results organizations are seeing when they approach AI the right way: with a plan, with training, and with people in the lead.
If you are wondering what that could look like for your team, let’s talk.
Watch the full news segment on Spectrum News 1: New program teaches small businesses to master AI.