If you run a small business today, then you should be using AI to help you manage your business smarter. All kinds of AI tools exist, helping you streamline a wide range of tasks, save time, and improve your operations. As a small business, this can be an absolute game-changer, as it allows you to get a lot more done with less. Plus, using AI strategically can give your business a competitive advantage.

If you’re not sure about how to implement AI in your small business, here are some of the different tools and functions you could try.

Customer Service and Support

One of the most common use cases for AI in small businesses is through customer service and support. AI tools can take a lot of the weight off of customer service reps by responding to customer questions and automating customer support. As a small business, this can be extremely valuable as you might not even have a dedicated customer service team.

Here are some AI-powered customer service tools that you could use to save time and boost efficiency:

• Zendesk – Utilizes AI for customer support ticketing and query resolution.
• Intercom – Offers AI-driven chatbots and customer messaging tools.
• Freshdesk – Provides AI-powered customer service solutions for small businesses.

Marketing and Sales

When it comes to AI use in small businesses, marketing, and sales are some of the biggest areas of adoption. Various AI tools exist to help create marketing and sales content, automate marketing processes, use data smarter, personalize customer journeys, and more. From AI video creation tools to AI writers, there are many different ways that small businesses can use this technology to enhance their marketing efforts. This takes a lot of the pressure off of marketing teams, and it can help small businesses achieve more in their marketing with fewer people and areas of expertise.

Here are a few AI-driven sales and marketing platforms your business could use:

• Jasper – An AI-powered content writing tool. Businesses can use Jasper to generate all kinds of marketing content – including blog posts and images.
• Surfer SEO – An AI content optimization tool that lets you create more SEO-friendly content for your website
• HubSpot – Offers AI-powered marketing automation and CRM tools.
• Mailchimp – Uses AI for email marketing campaigns and audience segmentation.
• Adobe Sensei – Provides AI and machine learning capabilities for personalised marketing.

Operations and Productivity

As a small business, you have limited time and resources to manage a lot of operations. This is why using AI-powered tools to boost productivity is a good idea. Automation is key here, as you can use software to automate all kinds of otherwise time-consuming manual tasks. Here are a few useful tools to help you achieve this:

• Zapier – Automates workflows between different apps using AI.
• Trello – Uses AI for task management and team collaboration.
• Monday.com – Offers AI-powered project management and workflow automation.

Financial Management

Using AI to streamline financial management in a business makes perfect sense. Various tools exist that can help small businesses improve bookkeeping accuracy while saving plenty of time and effort. If you’re not particularly skilled in accounting and financial management, then using the right AI tools can make your life a lot easier. Here are some good options:

• QuickBooks – Provides AI-driven accounting software for small businesses.
• Xero – Offers AI-enhanced accounting and financial management tools.
• Expensify – Uses AI for expense reporting and receipt scanning.

Human Resources

Whether you’re hiring new staff or want to streamline the way you manage your employees, AI can be used in HR. here are some tools to consider:

• HireVue – Utilizes AI for video interviewing and candidate assessment.
• Ideal – Uses AI for talent screening and recruitment automation.

Cybersecurity

Keeping your business protected is essential in this digital age. The right AI tools can help you achieve this. For example, Darktrace is a tool that offers AI-driven cybersecurity solutions for threat detection.

While you don’t need to use AI in every aspect of your business, it’s a good idea to explore areas that may have inefficiencies and see if you can find an AI solution to address this. When used properly, AI can help any small business operate a lot smarter. These tools use AI to streamline processes, enhance decision-making, and improve overall efficiency in various facets of small business operations. They’re also only a very small bunch of the many AI tools available. Selecting the right tool depends on your specific business needs, budget, and compatibility with existing systems.