Your next step in AI and digital marketing can be grant-funded.
Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices fund expert help with AI, digital and marketing. We help you work out which support fits, scope the project the application needs, and deliver it once it is approved.
- AI first, then marketing
- A clear project scope for your application
- Straight answers on what is and is not covered
- Up to 80%, max €5,000 grant Enterprise Ireland Digital and AI Discovery: an expert for your first or next step in AI
- 50%, max €35,000 grant Enterprise Ireland Digital Marketing Capability: build your team's marketing skills with an agency
- 50%, €500 to €5,000 Local Enterprise Office Grow Digital Voucher: adopt digital tools, including AI
The funding is there. Most small businesses never use it.
The reasons we hear are nearly always the same.
“We know AI matters. We do not know where to start.”
Everyone says to use AI. Nobody has shown you what it would do for your business, or what to try first.
“Grants sound like a lot of paperwork.”
Different agencies, different rules, and no idea whether you qualify before you start.
“We cannot tell which support fits.”
Discovery, Capability, vouchers. The names do not say what they pay for, or who they are for.
“The budget is tight this year.”
The project makes sense, but paying the full cost up front is hard to justify right now.
We sort it out in one conversation: which support, what it covers, and what the application needs from you.
Three supports, in the order we usually suggest them.
Rates and caps as published by the agencies. Eligibility is decided by them, not by us; your adviser confirms it.
Digital and AI Discovery
Enterprise Ireland. Up to 80% of the project cost, to a maximum grant of €5,000.
Funds an outside expert for a few days to help you take your first or next step in AI, or put digital foundations in place. The usual output is a practical roadmap with the first use cases picked out.
For us, that means finding where AI can save time or win enquiries in your marketing: search, Google Ads, content and lead handling. It does not pay for buying software.
Digital Marketing Capability
Enterprise Ireland. 50% of eligible costs, to a maximum grant of €35,000.
Funds training and advisory work from a digital marketing agency, plus part of the cost of someone on your team who carries the work on. The aim is a stronger in-house marketing team, not outsourced spend.
It does not cover ad spend or building a website. It suits companies ready to build a proper search and paid media capability.
Grow Digital Voucher
Local Enterprise Office. 50% of eligible costs, from €500 to a maximum of €5,000.
For small businesses that have traded for at least six months, to help adopt digital tools, including AI, that improve how the business runs and grows.
Your Local Enterprise Office decides what counts as an eligible cost, so we check the project with them before anything starts.
Terms checked October 2026 on enterprise-ireland.com, udaras.ie and localenterprise.ie. Schemes and rates change; your adviser has the final word. Running a charity? Ask us about Google Ad Grants instead.
From first call to funded project, in six steps.
The application is yours. We do the groundwork so it is quick to make, and the work so it is worth funding.
Free audit and call
We look at your site, your search and your Google Ads, and talk through where AI and better marketing would make the biggest difference.
Pick the support
We tell you which support looks like the best fit, and which ones do not, with the reasons.
Scope and quote
A written project scope, timeline and quote, in the form your application needs.
You apply
You apply through your Enterprise Ireland adviser or Local Enterprise Office. Nothing starts until the grant is approved, so no costs fall outside it.
Deliver the project
We do the work as scoped, with your team involved so the skills and the plan stay with you.
Report and next step
A plain-English summary of what was done and found, the paperwork your claim needs, and a clear view of what to do next.
What people ask about grants
Short answers. Your adviser at Enterprise Ireland or the Local Enterprise Office has the final word on eligibility.
Is my business eligible?
It depends on the support. Enterprise Ireland supports are generally for its client companies, and the Grow Digital Voucher is for small businesses registered and trading in a Local Enterprise Office area for at least six months. We help you work out which to ask about, and your adviser confirms it.
Do you make the application for us?
No. The application is yours, made through your Enterprise Ireland adviser or Local Enterprise Office. We provide the project scope, timeline and quote it asks for, and answer any questions about the work.
Can a grant pay for Google Ads spend or a new website?
Not under these supports. Digital Marketing Capability excludes online advertising and website builds, and Digital and AI Discovery does not pay for buying software. They fund expert help, training and planning.
Can we start the work before the grant is approved?
We advise against it. For Digital and AI Discovery, only costs incurred after approval are eligible, and most grants work the same way. We schedule the project to start once you have the approval.
Why start with AI?
Because it is where the funding and the opportunity meet. A Discovery project gives you a practical AI plan for your marketing at a fraction of the cost, and the plan tells you where any bigger investment should go.
We are a charity. Does any of this apply?
Registered charities are usually better served by Google Ad Grants, which gives eligible organisations up to $10,000 a month in free Google search ads. We help with the application and the management.
Find out which support fits, and what the project would be.
Start with a free audit of your site, your Google Ads and your AI visibility. We go through the grant options on the call that follows.