Conceptualizing AI-Driven Advisory Services for Expanding Trade Compliance Access to Small and Medium Enterprises

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises account for the overwhelming majority of registered businesses worldwide, yet they remain persistently underrepresented in international trade. A central but underexamined reason for this underrepresentation is the cost and complexity of trade compliance, which spans tariff classification, rules of origin, sanctions and restricted party screening, export controls, customs valuation, and documentary requirements. Large firms absorb these obligations through in-house compliance departments and retained professional advisors, while smaller firms often face a stark choice between forgoing cross-border opportunities and assuming unquantified regulatory risk. This paper develops a conceptual framework for artificial intelligence driven advisory services designed to expand access to trade compliance expertise for small and medium enterprises. Drawing on transaction cost economics, the resource-based view of the firm, and the technology-organization-environment framework, the paper theorizes how AI systems can restructure the economics of compliance advice by lowering search, verification, and monitoring costs, and by converting scarce specialist expertise into a scalable, continuously available service. The proposed framework comprises four interdependent layers: a regulatory data and knowledge layer, an intelligence and reasoning layer, an advisory interface layer, and an assurance and governance layer. The paper articulates design principles for each layer, advances a set of research propositions, and examines risks relating to accuracy, accountability, data protection, and overreliance on automated advice. The framework contributes to scholarship on technologyenabled professional services and offers practical guidance for advisory firms, technology developers, and policymakers seeking to democratize participation in international trade