Small and medium-sized businesses can use AI to operate at a fraction of the cost. How are these experts

From creating business plans to screening job seekers, there are a variety of ways to use artificial intelligence tools in small and medium-sized businesses. As AI continues to improve and develop, businesses can use AI more and more at almost every corner of their work.

“Artificial intelligence has the potential to fundamentally (re-change) the landscape of small and medium-sized businesses,” said Itamar Shabtai, director of the Center for Information Systems and Technology at Claremont Graduate University. “It’s no longer a distant frontier or an exclusive tool for corporate giants.”

A study from PayChex shows that many companies already think they are using AI to use AI.

However, in a rapidly moving world of AI, it is not always clear which tools are available and how they can be used. To better understand AI capabilities and determine the best tool for business owners, Bankrate spoke to AI, business and executive leadership experts. Their answers show that many job features AI can plug in and that small and medium-sized businesses can use AI to improve productivity and operations.

1. Marketing and Communication

Experts say they are very likely to use AI in marketing, public relations and social media. AI platforms can help expand the reach of small businesses by in favour of content creation and audience analysis. For example, according to Dr. Chris Ferris, a US business school instructor, small businesses can use AI that would have occupied the entire staff.

Specifically, small and medium-sized businesses can use AI to create:

• Marketing assets such as logos and website designs.
• Advertising copy, social media content, website content, including blogs, product descriptions, video scripts, and more.
• Help your audience to refine their persona and online advertising strategies.
• Tailored messaging and A/B testing.

“Generative AI stands out as an accessible power plant for SMBs (SMEs) especially in content creation,” adds Shabtai. “Small businesses are leveraging AI-driven tools to create tailored marketing materials, including blog posts, social media content, and ad copy, with unprecedented speed and effectiveness.”

Additionally, for internal communication, Mina Haque, an adjunct professor at the University of Washington, a University of American Law, said that AI is excellent at creating basic internal documents, such as training materials.

“For businesses with limited staff and resources, AI tools can efficiently generate daily operational guidelines, meet agendas, and meet customer communications and marketing content.

However, she emphasizes that to ensure accuracy, licensed lawyers need to review several documents, such as legal documents.

2. Customer Service and Insights

Customer service is important for many small businesses, but it usually means hiring people to answer calls, answer customer emails and perform other time-consuming tasks. Dan Yell, trusted and trusted chief data and analytics officer, a small business lending platform, says AI can help small businesses by quickly assessing their customers and continuing approval. This is a process that usually takes days or weeks, but with AI it can take hours.

“This allows small businesses to far outperform their weight classes in terms of customer acquisition and refine their human staff to a higher quality than the competition,” says Yelle.

Also, if you’ve seen a pop-up on a small business website that tells you to chat with a virtual customer service agent, you know how useful AI can be for your basic customer questions. Chatbots and virtual assistants already handle most of the daily questions of many small businesses, according to Tony Tong, co-founder and chief technology officer of Intellectia AI, an AI-powered investment platform.

3. sale

From drafting sales pitches to reducing customer churn, AI can add plenty of value to small sales teams. Tomas Rasymas, head of AI at Hostinger, the website’s hosting platform, says AI tools can analyze historical data and consumer behavior to predict sales and identify patterns that are life-saving for many sales teams. With AI, small teams can prioritize tasks faster than ever before and close out their deals.

You can also do ai:

• Identify and prioritize leads.
• Track customer sentiment, market shifts, and competitor activity in real time.
• Drive customer relationship management software, recommend the next step for salespeople and leads.

4. Operations and Human Resources

According to experts, AI can also perform many basic tasks that normally require an administrative assistant. Furthermore, AI probably cannot interview candidates, but can perform other HR tasks.

• Summary of documents such as meeting notes.
• Improve or generate the entire email.
• Automate administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, accounting, invoices, and financial forecasting.
• Select candidates, schedule interviews, and identify retention risks early.

AI can be a game changer – if you pay attention

AI is a useful tool, but small businesses need to place GuardRails in place to ensure that the content created by AI is accurate.

Yusen Xia, PhD, professor and director of Georgia State University’s Insights Institute, points out that language learning models (LLMs) such as ChatGpt and Gemini can hallucinate. Most content, especially legal and financial materials, should be reviewed by experts before they can be used. Publication of misleading or inaccurate information can undermine the company’s reliability. It could also lead to regulatory and legal issues.

“AI can help small businesses (do) more with fewer staff,” adds Ferris. “But what’s important is not simply publishing content or assets generated to AI. Humans still need to be involved in guiding, reviewing, checking and improving output from AI tools.”

Additionally, if you are a small business owner, you should be careful not to plug customer data (such as Social Security Numbers and Banking Information) or other sensitive information into third-party AI tools such as ChatGpt. This is an existing concern. According to Paychex, more than half (54%) of small businesses say data privacy and security for adopting AI is their main challenge.

AI can make your business more affordable – to avoid subscription creep

Additionally, if you use AI tools, you need to be aware of the cost. Most AI chatbots are more affordable than hiring someone to complete a task, but they still have their own fees.

ChatGpt has stages ranging from free to $200 per month, while Claude has tiers ranging from free to $100 per month. If you choose to pay for AI services, beware of subscription creep, especially if you’re starting a small business recently and trying to keep costs down. According to CNET, Americans already spend an average of $91 per month on subscription services, with some AI services doubling that.

Conclusion

AI can’t replace the entire to-do list, but if you’re the sole owner or lead a small business team, it might be what you need to push your business to the next level.

“The 2025 AI isn’t just for the Fortune 500,” Ton says. “This is the ultimate power multiplier for small business owners. It frees you from everyday tasks so you can focus on growth, innovation and customers.”

Experts interviewed by Bankrate

Bankrate interviewed eight experts from universities and businesses across the country about insights on AI and small business.

Dr. Chris Ferris is a Rice Business lecturer in Houston, Texas, teaching MBA students self-design classes on digital strategy. He also works as the SVP of Digital Strategy for Pierpont Communications, a Houston-based PR and marketing company. He holds a Masters and PhD in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania. from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

Mohaimina “Mina” Haque is CEO of Tony Roma’s and is leading a strategic transformation to stimulate the iconic 53-year-old restaurant chain. In addition to her executive role, Mina runs a successful law firm specializing in immigration and corporate law, focusing on mergers and acquisitions.
Mina is also an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Washington, USA, where she teaches legal management. Mina was selected as one of DC’s top female leaders and top lawyers in 2024 by the International Association of Top Professionals.

Tomas Rasymas is an AI leader, researcher and builder with over 15 years of experience in data science, artificial intelligence and technology leadership. As Head of AI at Hostinger, he focuses on bringing AI into real-world applications. Develop intelligent chatbots, shape the future of website builders with AI, and integrate large-scale language models (LLMs) into your products. He also founded the 00AI Community, a space for AI professionals and enthusiasts to gather AI experts and enthusiasts to advance the field in Lithuania. Passionate about the possibilities of AI, Tomas enjoys his mentoring team, experimenting with new ideas and contributing to the discussion of AI.

Itamar Shabtai is the Director of the Centre for Information Systems and Technology (CISAT) and Director of CGU’s Doctor of Technology Program. From 2015 to 2021, Shabtai was dean of the Faculty of Economics, vice-president for education and quality, and Chair of Janusz Korczak for academic education in the digital age of the Faculty of Business Administration. He also served as head of the Information Systems and Data Analysis Program.

Tony Tong is co-founder and chief technology officer of Intellectia AI, bringing over 15 years of renowned experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning and IT leadership. A recognized innovator, Tony has received over 20 international patents and has a robust track record of pioneering advanced technology solutions across a diverse range of industries.
Before Intellectia AI, Tony served as CTO and Head of AI/ML at Auditoria.ai, where he developed an advanced conversational AI platform designed for financial back-office automation. His impressive career has contributed to leading machine learning research with BlackRock’s Knowledge Discovery team, ML-led trading strategies at Pentient Investment Management, and holds executive R&D positions at Punchh Inc. and Luminus Devices.
Tony’s interdisciplinary expertise is supported by a wide range of academic qualifications, including a dual bachelor’s degree in mechanical and computer science from the University of China Science, as well as a master’s degree in financial engineering and doctoral degrees from Berkeley Haas Business School, California. With nanoengineering from Berkeley, California.

Dr. Xia’s research interests include machine learning, deep learning and generation AI, unstructured data analysis, healthcare analysis, and operation and supply chain management. He applies and advances a variety of analytical methods to solve business problems in various industries. His research has appeared in top journals such as Management Science, Operational Research, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Financial Economics, Informs Journal on Computing, and Harvard Business Law Review. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation and many companies in the industry. He is currently a senior editor at the Journal of Production and Operations Management.

As the best and trusted data and analytics director, Dan Yelle is responsible for driving strategy through data science and analytics throughout the risk management lifecycle, including leading the development of AI and machine learning applications. Dan holds an undergraduate study at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by a Masters in Applied Statistics from Cornell University and Physics from Syracuse University.