How Small Businesses Are Using AI

IT leaders can also customize their AI-enabled contact centers further with callback queues, so users can skip the wait on hold and receive a phone call once an agent is available. These calls can also be recorded to serve as a training tool for employees. Did the virtual agent exhibit sufficient empathy in answering the question? Businesses can also collect data via automated ratings to improve their AI-driven services. An AI tool or software-as-a-service (SaaS) business lets you create a branded, scalable product used across industries. Whether it’s a tool for data analysis, workflow automation, or productivity enhancement, SaaS platforms provide continuous value to users while generating recurring revenue for you.

This kind of AI forecasting helps determine project timelines, budget requirements, and resource allocation. “AI content is a game-changer for scaling content marketing efforts,” says Linnes. With customizable content creation options, you support clients in producing high-quality material tailored to their audience, from blog posts to product descriptions. ChatGPT App “The value of chatbots is that they’re always on, providing immediate assistance to customers,” Linnes points out. By building chatbots to handle routine queries, you free up human agents for complex issues, improving overall customer satisfaction. Implementing AI-powered CRM can greatly enhance efficiency and engagement for your small businesses.

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Such implementations, Crenshaw said, help small businesses accomplish tasks that they couldn’t do — or couldn’t do well — without AI. This, in turn, helps them save time and money or redirect resources, such as talent and funds, into their core functions, products and services. In Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Vested Impact, with support from Mastercard Strive, is developing an affordable small-business platform to measure a company’s impact in seconds. Their goal is to assess 1.2 million small businesses by the end of 2024.

These generative AI applications streamline operations and help teams achieve greater collaboration with ease. Linnes sees which new AI businesses are gaining fast traction, and knows which approaches are here to stay. The potential for AI to reshape industries and create entirely new revenue streams is undeniable. Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from novelty to necessity, with businesses worldwide racing to integrate AI into their operations. Right now, we’re still seeing early adopters take advantage, but this shift is about to go mainstream. Cece Meadows, founder and CEO of Prados Beauty, uses AI-powered tools to help her company succeed.

By integrating these affordable tools, you’ll be able to enhance your marketing strategy, drive growth, and compete more effectively in a crowded marketplace. When Mastercard created the Center for Inclusive Growth in 2014, we understood that the digital economy—the world’s economy—would only work when the smallest of businesses could access the tools and services that supported their success. Those digital tools and services at the time included loans, data, and mobile money. Platforms like Drift and Intercom use AI-powered chatbots for customer service, enabling real-time engagement with website visitors and providing instant support.

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Choosing the right artificial intelligence tool from the many that are available will come down to the requirements of the small business and its day-to-day activities. Here is an overview of some of the applications and business areas that AI tools can support. A full list of special Small Business Days offers and resources for small business owners can be found here.

Some 60% of respondents believe AI will help their business in the future. AI can even analyze purchasing behaviors and study customer feedback from previous years to help improve your strategy. Small Business Saturday is a prime opportunity for small businesses to promote their brand and take advantage of an eager-to-shop audience. However, with nearly 32 million independent businesses, competition is fierce. A small business is defined as having less than 500 employees, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics indicate there were 5,358,600 such firms in 2021, up from 5,322,155 in 2020.

• Businesses of all sizes that need an omnichannel messaging platform to help them engage with their customers across channels.
• The true value of AI lies in its ability to augment human efforts rather than replace them entirely, helping small businesses operate more effectively within their existing frameworks.
• Before launching, AI can assist with market research and creating the right brand voice.
• If they do use AI, they rarely put it to good use, utilizing it to help with simple tasks like content development.

Platforms like Meta (formerly Facebook) extensively use AI to enhance user experience, refine ad targeting, and improve advertising effectiveness. By analyzing data on user behavior, AI helps businesses reach their target audience with precision, making it an invaluable tool for small business marketing. Content creation is among the top applications for AI-driven tools alongside social media management and marketing. AI can generate ideas for various types of content, including text, graphic designs, videos, and social media posts, to save businesses valuable time in their marketing efforts. The SF Fed supports a strong economy for all Americans by advancing our country’s monetary, financial, and payment systems.

Small businesses have low cash buffers, and a miscalculation, late payment, or even fast growth could cause a life-threatening cash crunch. For example, businesses with fewer than 10 employees whose revenue increased over the past six months are more likely to have used AI, according to a survey conducted by GoDaddy. At least 44% of survey participants believe AI will help them compete with larger businesses. However, despite the potential for AI, 45% of small-business owners are not confident using AI, and understanding how to get started can be challenging. AI-powered financial planning tools help SMBs manage everything from invoice and expense tracking to budget creation and management.

America’s SBDC will also receive scholarships to the Google AI Essentials course to help train the AI Clinic Advisors. The most commonly used AI-enabled tools among US small businesses are search engines, social media platforms, email services, and financial management software. AI can make a tool like this even more powerful by analyzing larger data sets to understand economic growth trends and depressions at a more granular level. When your team is unavailable, AI chatbots can offer 24/7 customer support, eliminating the need for additional staffing. This allows businesses to scale and quickly handle customer issues — sometimes without human involvement — which will lower operational costs while improving the customer experience.

The idea of implementing AI can be intimidating, especially when coupled with the fear of obsolescence. Small business owners worry that adopting AI might require more time, money, and technical know-how than they currently possess. Despite the glowing endorsements from large corporations, these smaller entities often see little to no actual integration of AI in their daily operations. The gap between the potential benefits touted by AI proponents and the real-world applications for small businesses remains substantial. This is according to the fifth annual Verizon State of Small Business survey. Both the government and leaders in the tech industry can play crucial roles in bridging the digital divide.

How can AI be used for small businesses?

Plus, by matching your brand’s tone, AI chatbots can reinforce your brand persona across all interactions. Recruitment and retention are a top concern for small-business owners, according to Guidant Financial. At least 33% of small-business owners find the hiring process “somewhat” or “very difficult.” Consider using AI tools to help you write job descriptions and scan résumés to streamline hiring. AI tools can scan data from a variety of places, such as online job postings, social media networks and networking sites, to find qualified candidates.

Here are three surprising ways AI will change the way small businesses operate. Chatbots can help businesses automate tasks, such as customer support, sales and marketing. They can also help businesses understand how customers interact with their chatbots. Chatbots are also available 24/7, so they’re around to interact with site visitors and potential customers when actual people are not. They can guide users to the proper pages or links they need to use your site properly and answer simple questions without too much trouble.

When choosing a chatbot, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Businesses of all sizes that need an omnichannel messaging platform to help them engage with their customers across channels. Businesses of all sizes that are looking for a sales chatbot, especially those that need help qualifying leads and booking meetings. Businesses of all sizes that need a high degree of customization for their chatbots. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website. It’s also important to educate yourself and your employees around AI use, and have good company policies around it, Geilich-Parker said.

By relying on AI for routine tasks, such as receipt tracking and transcribing meetings, you’ll have more time for strategic planning and improving efficiency. While AI won’t ever eliminate the need for a human touch, it can help you create a budget and analyze financial data to forecast trends. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. In previous roundtables focused on artificial intelligence (AI), participants noted that they were using AI tools predominantly for back-office tasks such as data management and generating marketing materials. The small business leaders participating in this discussion echoed these sentiments.

These tools can automate bookkeeping, reduce manual data entry and human error, and forecast future trends using historical data. AI-powered small business marketing tools and competitive analysis tools help SMBs analyze ample data, providing deeper insights into customer behaviors, product popularity, and market trends. These insights help SMBs tailor their marketing strategies and remain competitive in their respective markets.

Small businesses, particularly those with revenues ranging from $4 million to $30 million, can find themselves overwhelmed by the barrage of AI marketing. In the past year, the number of SMBs using AI has more than doubled (39% of SMBs are using AI chatbot for small business in 2024 compared to 14% in 2023), in large part due to the growing familiarity with and accessibility of AI and its business applications. For instance, in Asana, AI can analyze your tasks and deadlines to suggest the best order to complete them.

Naturally, then, people have a lot of questions about how they can leverage AI in their own businesses. These AI tools can help you pinpoint areas where you can outperform your competitors for greater growth and success. You may already use virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant to help you in your personal life. They can also help you save time and stay organized with simple voice commands for business tasks, too. “They’re wondering about the risks of AI, security and defining the value AI could bring [to their operations].” Despite the multiple advantages that AI brings, many small businesses have limited AI deployments, according to researchers, advisers and small-business leaders.

For small business owners, time is one of the most valuable – and limited – resources. Running a business often means juggling multiple tasks, from customer relations to finances, marketing to production, and about 101 other things. Fortunately, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing time management, allowing small business owners to automate tasks, streamline workflows, and reclaim valuable time. Here’s a closer look at how AI is transforming the way small business owners and solopreneuers manage their time. Verizon has a goal to support one million small businesses by 2030 with free digital skills training to help them succeed. Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is a free online platform tailored for small business owners.

Yet the same report mentions that only 23% of small businesses have adopted AI. While this is still a significant number of adopters—given that there are over 33 million small businesses in the U.S.—there is still plenty of opportunity for AI integration. A female business owner using a laptop and illustrated with different holographic icons representing apps. Like other tech-enabled projects, AI initiatives should be strategic, aligned to business objectives and well managed, according to small-business executives and advisers. That list, however, doesn’t tell the whole story of the benefits AI brings to small businesses.

With software like Coachvox and SiteSpeak AI, they actually can — at least digitally. President Daly and the small business leaders concluded that at this initial stage of GenAI’s integration into the economy, it was still too early to tell whether the technology will favor more competition or lead to consolidation across industries. Roundtable discussions like these are a centerpiece of the EERN initiative. A partnership between the SF Fed and the Federal Reserve System Innovation Office, EERN supports a better understanding of how new technologies like GenAI are shaping the economy of the future. But data collection, organization, and analysis are often difficult for small businesses.

• While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
• Shopify’s Sidekick serves as a virtual assistant for merchants, helping them with tasks such as writing product descriptions, suggesting marketing strategies, and optimizing store layouts.
• With affordable, user-friendly AI tools, small businesses can now compete on par with larger companies without requiring advanced technical expertise.
• They struggle to see how AI can be meaningfully integrated into their operations without substantial investment and disruption.

There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. “This is an essential part of our ambition to use AI to improve public services in a safe and reliable way, making sure the UK government leads by example in driving innovation forward.” “With all new technology, it takes time to get it right so we’re taking it through extensive trials with thousands of real users before it is used more widely,” said Kyle. 4 Copilot in Windows – Timing of feature delivery and availability varies by market and device. Outcomes spanned time saving, ability to focus on more important work, enhanced creativity and job satisfaction.

Additionally, the AI analytics within these tools give you insights into campaign performance, so you know which ads and posts resonate most with your target audience. AI can improve accounting processes by automating or making bookkeeping tasks more efficient, offering categorization recommendations for transactions based on historical data. Some AI tools can also assist with data analysis for cash flow forecasting, accounts payable and accounts receivable processing, and catching errors or irregularities in transaction data that indicate fraud or security risks. Ensuring that companies large and small have a seat at the table will better serve the public and will accelerate American innovation.

No matter how “smart” it is, significant human oversight and intervention still need to be done. Despite advantages like content creation—social media posts, blog articles, and marketing ChatGPT materials, there is skepticism about AI’s ability to generate significant revenue for small businesses. SMBs are also investing more in tech than they have in the past three years.

He’s found AI tools essential, as it helps educate a multilingual student base, and gives them translation resources, he said. Businesses can use AI to help form thoughts or as a starting point in the workflow. AI can also help with tasks like data analysis and note-taking, or even coming up with an itinerary, Geilich-Parker said. Technology is always changing, and the use of artificial intelligence becomes more ubiquitous with each passing day. Business owners and professionals may want to learn how to use it to its best ability.