Built by SMEC AI under the federal AI Adopt program, the service was unveiled in Melbourne alongside the National AI Centre.
Small business owners wondering how to get started with AI now have somewhere to call.
The AI Information Line, a free national phone service, went live this week, offering Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) practical guidance on adopting artificial intelligence in a single call. It was unveiled at an industry event in Melbourne on 22 July, co-hosted by SMEC AI (the Small to Medium Enterprise Centre of AI) and the National AI Centre (NAIC).
The service is built and operated in Australia by SMEC AI under the Australian Government’s AI Adopt program. It’s reachable on 1800 517 403 or at smecai.au, free of charge.
Closing the gap
The line is aimed squarely at a gap the data keeps turning up. Deloitte Access Economics research from November 2025 found that while around two-thirds of Australian small and medium businesses now use AI in some form, only about five per cent of those using it are doing so anywhere near its full potential. More than half of SME workforces have only basic or novice familiarity with the technology, and roughly a third of non-adopting businesses say they simply don’t know where to start.
The same modelling, commissioned by Amazon, estimated that around $44 billion could be added to the Australian economy each year if just one in ten lower-maturity SMEs advanced a single rung on the AI maturity ladder.
Andrew Lai, Managing Director of SMEC AI, said the barrier for most small businesses isn’t interest, it’s uncertainty.
“Most small businesses don’t stall on AI because they aren’t interested. They stall because they don’t know where to start, and they can’t afford to get it wrong,” Lai said. “The AI Information Line removes that first barrier. We built this under the AI Adopt program so that trustworthy AI assistance isn’t a privilege of big companies with big budgets. It’s a free, national front door to AI for every small business in the country.”
How the line works
A caller describes their problem in plain language. An AI voice agent, which identifies itself as AI from the outset, answers within seconds and works through a structured set of questions before pointing the caller toward general AI options worth considering. After the call, the person receives a written summary by text, described as a plain-English recap of the discussion with suggested next steps.
That summary is general information rather than professional advice, and callers can ask to book a time with a member of the SMEC AI team at any point in the process.
Built for trust
At the Melbourne event, NAIC Executive Director Lee Hickin joined a fireside conversation on Australia’s National AI Strategy and the future of AI adoption. He framed the initiative as part of a broader push to make AI adoption safer for smaller operators.
“Australia’s opportunity in AI will be shaped by how confidently our small and medium businesses can adopt it, safely, and purposefully. That means meeting them where they are, with practical and responsible support,” Hickin said. “Initiatives that are built to a high standard of safety and accountability help give the SME sector a clearer, more confident path to adopt AI, and that is good for the whole economy.”
SMEC AI says every call summary is logged and auditable, and that the service does not provide professional, legal, financial or tax advice. Any tools or categories mentioned during a call are described as examples to consider, not endorsements, and SMEC AI says it receives no commissions from any provider.
For SME owners wanting a low-stakes way to ask “where do I even begin with AI,” the line offers exactly that: no meetings, no proposals, no sales pitch, just a phone call. Whether it becomes a genuinely useful first step or simply a well-intentioned government pilot will likely come down to what happens after the call ends, and whether the “next steps” on offer hold up in practice.
The AI Information Line is available now on 1800 517 403 and at smecai.au.
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