Zuckerberg Wants an AI CEO. So Should You.
If one of the world's most successful businessmen is building an AI system to synthesise information across his entire company, small business entrepreneurs should be asking why they aren't doing the same.
Quick Pour
Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year that Meta is building AI systems designed to work like a CEO, synthesising information from across every department to support executive decision-making. Meta is investing up to $135 billion in AI infrastructure to make this happen, flattening teams and building what Zuckerberg calls "AI-native tooling" so individuals can accomplish what previously required entire departments.
That announcement didn't land in a vacuum for us. We've been building something similar at Asterley Bros, albeit at a rather different scale.
The signal underneath the headline
The interesting thing about Zuckerberg's AI CEO project isn't the money or the ambition. It's the principle. He's saying that the most valuable application of AI inside a company isn't generating content or answering customer queries. It's decision support. Connecting data from across the business, processing it, and helping leaders make better calls faster.
If one of the world's most successful businessmen is looking to do this, then why shouldn't small business entrepreneurs?
That's not a rhetorical question. The tools that make this possible aren't locked behind enterprise contracts anymore. The foundational AI models, the ability to connect data sources, the capacity to build custom evaluation frameworks, all of this is available to a six-person vermouth company in South London just as much as it is to a trillion-dollar tech platform. The gap between what Meta can build and what we can build has never been smaller in practical terms.
And the data backs this up. According to the British Chambers of Commerce, 54% of UK firms are now actively using AI, more than double the 25% figure from just two years ago. The shift is real, and it's accelerating. But the same research shows that only 11% of SMEs are deploying AI extensively enough to see genuine operational transformation. Most are experimenting. Few are building systems that actually change how decisions get made.
What we're building, and why it matters
At Asterley Bros we've been developing a linked data system that brings together everything we know about the business: production capacity, team skills, financial position, customer preferences, supply chain relationships, and historical performance. The AI sits on top of all that, helping us triage decisions, evaluate options and see potential outcomes we might miss.
That last point matters more than the technology itself. Large companies have advisory boards, strategy consultants, departmental heads who specialise in different areas of the business. A small drinks company has a handful of people wearing multiple hats, making decisions based on instinct and whatever data they can pull together between production runs. An AI system trained on your actual business data doesn't replace good judgement. It compensates for the structural disadvantage small companies face when making strategic decisions without the support infrastructure that larger organisations take for granted.
Through Absolution Labs we work with other SME drinks businesses on exactly this kind of system. The pattern is consistent: the value isn't in the flashy consumer-facing applications. It's in the unglamorous decision-support layer that helps founders and small teams think more clearly about where to focus limited resources.
The democratisation argument
| Aspect | Enterprise (Meta-scale) | SME (Asterley Bros-scale) |
|---|---|---|
| Data sources | Millions of users, departments, products | Production logs, financials, customer data, supply chain |
| AI infrastructure | Custom models, $135B capex | Commercial APIs (Claude, ChatGPT), custom prompts |
| Decision scope | Company-wide strategy, product development | Batch planning, market entry, innovation evaluation |
| Team support | Hundreds of AI engineers | Founder + commercial AI tools |
| Core principle | Synthesise data, support decisions | Synthesise data, support decisions |
The principle is identical. The scale is different. And in some ways, the smaller scale is an advantage. We can connect every data point in our business because there aren't that many. We can build a system that genuinely understands our production constraints, our team's capabilities, and our customers because we're not dealing with the complexity of a platform serving billions.
McKinsey's 2025 State of AI survey found that nearly two-thirds of organisations haven't begun scaling AI across the enterprise. For smaller firms, the number is starker: only 29% of companies with less than $100 million in revenue have reached the scaling phase. The window is open, and the tools are democratic. What's missing for most small businesses isn't access. It's the recognition that the same strategic AI that Zuckerberg is building for Meta is something they can build for themselves.
Knowledge has been democratised and this is a huge opportunity for small businesses.
Frequently asked questions
What is Zuckerberg's AI CEO project at Meta?
In early 2026, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta is building AI systems designed to synthesise information across all departments and support executive decision-making. The company is investing up to $135 billion in AI infrastructure and has described the initiative as creating AI-native tooling that enables individuals to accomplish what previously required large teams.
Can small drinks businesses build AI decision support systems?
Yes. The same foundational AI tools that power enterprise decision support are available to businesses of any size. A small producer can build a system that connects their production data, financials, customer insights, and supply chain information into a unified AI-assisted decision layer, using commercially available tools like Claude, ChatGPT, or custom-built solutions.
How are UK small businesses adopting AI in 2026?
According to the British Chambers of Commerce, 54% of UK firms are now actively using AI as of early 2026, up from 35% in 2025 and 25% in 2024. AI adoption among UK small businesses has more than doubled in two years, though only 11% are deploying it extensively enough to see significant operational transformation.
What does AI decision support look like for a small producer?
For a small producer, AI decision support means connecting business-specific data (capacity, team skills, production history, customer preferences, financials) to an AI system that can evaluate opportunities, triage decisions, and provide objective strategic guidance. It compensates for the lack of advisory boards and expert teams that larger companies take for granted.
Robert Berry is co-founder of Asterley Bros, a London-based premium aperitivo company, and Absolution Labs, an AI automation consultancy for drinks businesses. He makes vermouth by day and builds AI systems in the margins.