GDPR & Data Privacy
AI & data protection in 2026: A practical guide to the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 for SMEs
Most business owners and key decision-makers I speak to are in the same position: AI tools are already in use across the business (marketing, customer service, HR, analytics, and finance), but governance hasn’t kept pace. That's understandable. Businesses move fast, but regulation moves more slowly. And yet, in 2026, the direction of travel is clear: data protection is becoming more operational (especially around complaints and access requests), and AI governance is moving from “nice to have” to “expected”. This is not to be feared, as you do not need