Exploring Growth Strategies of European Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Service Sector using ChatGPT

In recent years, the development of the artificial intelligence is changing with each passing day. Artificial intelligence has more and more application scenarios in modern production and life, generating more value and sparking numerous discussions. The epoch-making significance of the launch of ChatGPT (and its successive version GPT4) in late 2022 cannot be overstated. In just two months, it became the fastest application in human history to exceed 100 million registered users worldwide and is considered the core digital product of the next-generation technological revolution, with great potential for development. ChatGPT's high intelligence can efficiently solve many problems faced by the European small and medium-sized enterprises in the service sector, providing more possible approaches for their growth. To explore growth strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises in the service sector, semi-structured interviews have been conducted (n=24) and a qualitative methodology is used to analyze the role that ChatGPT can play. The optimization and assistance that ChatGPT can bring to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the service sector is analyzed in a structured way from the aspects of human resource management, strategy decision making, fund raising, service research and development, finance, marketing, sales, administration and operation. Based on findings and existing research on the role of artificial intelligence in SMEs’ development, the authors propose development paths and implementation strategies for ChatGPT technology to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in optimization and growing.