AI Tips for Small Biz

Developing streamlined systems has always been a key to small business success, and using technology effectively is essential. Helping our clients find and implement the right tech tools for their unique needs is a constant thread in P-Brain’s work. Researching software solutions and platform choices is time-consuming and often confusing, but unavoidable if you want to run your venture smoothly.

As if business and nonprofit leaders weren’t challenged enough by the task of managing technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has now entered the scene. If you run a business or nonprofit and feel out of your depth contemplating whether or how to use AI, you’re not alone.

To provide some context and a big-picture view of how to start thinking about AI for small business, here’s an excerpt from my book, The Small Business Start-Up Kit.

Excerpt from The Small Business Start-Up Kit, 13th edition (Nolo):

While text and image generators have dominated mainstream use of AI, a dizzying number of other AI-powered apps are hitting the market, including many aimed at small businesses. Because they are all so new, it is too early to tell which ones will endure and what overall impact AI will have in the world of business. But by all accounts, AI is poised to be a game-changer.

In this very early stage of AI adoption, let’s take a look at some basics. There will undoubtedly be plenty to update in the next edition of this book.

• AI is distinct from automation. If you read articles about AI, or ask ChatGPT “How can small businesses use AI?” you’ll get many answers that focus on streamlining processes and systems. However the reality is that many automation apps already exist that are not technically AI. Zapier, for example, has for many years automated systems and helped connect email lists with CRMs, for example. Technically speaking, regular automations are not the same thing as AI.

• Apps you already use are incorporating AI. Many platforms are bringing AI into their feature sets. As noted in Chapter 1, online business plan generators like LivePlan and BizPlan have incorporated AI into their tools. As shown above, Canva offers an image generator. Notion (project management software) allows users to add AI properties to pages that will do things such as automatically summarize notes or translate content. We will undoubtedly see more AI-driven features within familiar apps.

• AI language models are powerful research and content generation tools. Entering queries into ChatGPT can be mind-blowingly informative and can yield content useful for marketing, blogging, and more.  But…

• Reviewing AI results is essential. The results of an AI chatbot simply may not be accurate. You should use your judgment and similar practices as when you use Google. Just as you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet, you should verify the accuracy of a ChatGPT response. 

• Be especially careful attempting to use ChatGPT for legal tasks like drafting contracts. As noted in Chapter 11, there are both opportunities and pitfalls in using AI for legal research or contract drafting. But you should keep an eye on AI-driven legal tools for small businesses as they evolve. Don’t be afraid to try such tools if you think they might be helpful, but verify the accuracy of the results they produce.  

• AI raises ethical issues, to put it mildly. The concerns about AI range from putting writers out of work, to infringing copyright owned by human creators, to potentially ending life on earth. Whether AI will turn against humans is beyond the scope of this book, but it’s fair to say that the impacts of AI on the workforce are real. Every business owner will need to examine their own values and ethics regarding using this technology. Will you replace staff with AI tools? Will you continue to hire local photographers, or will you instead use AI generated images? Will you use AI to generate marketing content, such as blog posts for your company’s website? There are no right or wrong answers here, and the world will be figuring it out for some time to come.  

We recommend trying out AI tools to see how they might help streamline your operation, while staying attuned to the pitfalls of accuracy and ethics. Some uses that are especially compelling include:

• automated customer support
• language translations
• contract drafting (with heavy caveats and plenty of review)
• general research
• data analytics, including financial projections