Abstract

This study examined the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and organizational performance among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in Uyo metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Although AI technologies such as chatbots, predictive analytics, automated bookkeeping and generative AI tools are increasingly available to small firms, empirical evidence on whether their adoption translates into measurable performance gains in sub-national Nigerian markets remains scarce (Arachie, Nwosu, Ugwuanyi & Ibrahim, 2025; Nwagbala, Ezeanokwasa, Nwachukwu & Uzodike, 2025). Anchored on the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework (Tornatzky, Fleischer & Chakrabarti, 1990) and the Diffusion of Innovations theory (Rogers, 2003), the study adopted a correlational survey design. Data were collected from 312 SME owner-managers selected through stratified random sampling, using a structured questionnaire validated by experts and tested for reliability (overall Cronbach's alpha = 0.89). Research questions were answered with descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), while the three hypotheses were tested with Pearson product–moment correlation and multiple regression analysis at the 0.05 level of significance using SPSS version 27. Findings revealed a moderately high level of AI adoption (grand mean = 3.42) and a strong, positive and significant relationship between AI adoption and organizational performance (r = 0.68, p < 0.05). The regression model showed that operational, analytical and generative AI jointly predicted 54% of the variance in performance (R² = 0.54, F = 122.6, p < 0.05), with operational AI exerting the strongest effect (β = 0.41). The study concluded that AI adoption is a significant driver of SME performance in Uyo, and recommended targeted digitalskills training, improved infrastructure and government-supported financing schemes to accelerate responsible adoption