By Reshma Jobanputra, Sales & Marketing Consultant and Guest Speaker
Artificial Intelligence has been around since the 1950s. Early systems like Deep Blue and AlphaGo proved that machines could outperform humans in specific, narrow tasks. However, for many years, AI remained out of reach for most businesses and individuals, limiting its presence in mainstream awareness.
What has changed – making AI feel inevitable today – is the increased accessibility and availability of generative AI tools.
For the first time, solopreneurs and small businesses can utilise AI without needing technical skills, large budgets, or expert teams. This shift has brought real opportunities, alongside some understandable uncertainty.
With new tools emerging daily and mounting pressure to adopt AI or risk falling behind, small business owners may find it overwhelming and confusing to determine how to leverage AI effectively to add value.
This article offers a practical method to identify where to incorporate AI in your work, provides an overview of AI applications in common business areas, and assesses what changes to expect and what will remain the same. It concludes with some final thoughts.
From AI Tools to Business Functions
One of the most common mistakes I see is treating AI as a collection of clever tools rather than as support for business functions.
A more helpful question is:
Where in my business do I repeatedly spend time, effort, or mental energy that could be supported — without handing over control?
When you look at AI through that lens, it naturally maps onto the fundamental areas of a business.
Marketing: Enhancing Visibility Without Overload
Many small businesses are beginning to incorporate AI into their marketing efforts, and it’s a smart move. Creating content, reusing ideas, and staying visible can be both time-consuming and mentally exhausting.
AI tools assist with tasks such as drafting blog posts, developing content strategies, generating social media variants, exploring SEO topics, and outlining email campaigns. For example, ChatGPT often helps draft initial versions, while other tools aid in keyword research, headline testing, or visual content creation.
When used effectively, AI reduces the gap between ideas and execution. When misused, it leads to generic, noisy content—an all-too-common mistake. Remember, AI lacks personal experience, audience insight, and a unique perspective. Nonetheless, it excels at turning your thoughts into actionable content. Always review AI-generated output before posting.
Think of AI as a multiplier, not a replacement, for your efforts.
Tools to explore: Claude, ChatGPT, Jasper AI, Grammarly
Sales: Clarity, Consistency, and Touchpoints
AI is excellent at automation and can be a valuable asset in the sales process when used effectively.
It helps solopreneurs and small business owners clarify their value proposition, refine outreach messages, prepare for sales calls, and structure follow-ups and proposals. Typical applications include automating email sequences.
Some businesses integrate AI with CRMs to summarise conversations or identify next steps, while others use it to think through objections or positioning.
However, AI cannot build trust, read the room, or adapt emotionally in real time. Therefore, despite the availability of tools that can automate sales calls for small businesses, I strongly recommend handling the conversations personally.
Recommended tools include ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Pipedrive, and Fathom.
Operations: Reducing Mental Load and Friction
Operations often benefit most quietly and significantly from AI. Many small businesses tend to keep their process knowledge in their heads – such as workflows, what comes next, and common oversights. AI can help organise this scattered knowledge by aiding in process documentation, checklists, workflows, and prioritisation.
Business owners might use AI to create standard operating procedures or onboarding steps, or to organise tasks and summarise data. The goal isn’t automation for its own sake but reducing mental burden — allowing more focus on strategic thinking.
Useful tools include ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
Finance: Understanding the Numbers
AI isn’t a substitute for accountants or financial oversight, but it can be a valuable support for understanding financial matters.
When used correctly, AI can break down complex financial concepts into simple language, analyse reports, simulate basic scenarios, and assist with cash-flow questions. This is especially helpful for founders who excel in their field but may feel less comfortable with numbers.
The important thing is to be cautious and verify AI outputs. Always sense-check and confirm, but the improved clarity can boost financial confidence and guide smarter decisions.
Additionally, AI can automate routine tasks, such as bookkeeping.
Useful tools include Xero and QuickBooks, ANNA Money
People: Supporting the Human Side of Business
People are the most complex aspect of any business and are not well-suited to automation.
However, AI can serve as a supportive tool. Business owners utilise it to craft role descriptions, develop onboarding materials, organise feedback, or strategise for tough conversations in advance.
Additionally, AI automating HR tasks can ease the workload for business owners.
Recommended tools include Zenefits, Gusto, TalentHR, Zoho
What AI Cannot Do — and Why That Matters
AI does not have personal experience. It does not fact-check by default. It lacks common sense and ethical judgment. Crucially, it lacks a point of view.
This is why AI cannot replace thought leadership, lived experience, or strategic judgement — and why it should never be used blindly. AI is based on patterns in what already exists, not on insight into what should or indeed could exist.
What Will Change — and What Won’t
AI will progressively handle more automatable tasks, leading to increased productivity and a surplus of content.
Paradoxically, this enhances the value of truly quality content — clear, thoughtful, experience-driven — more than ever. We remain human, complex beings, and trust, creativity, and judgement continue to be fundamentally human qualities.
Looking Ahead
You may hear more about developments such as agentic AI — systems capable of acting independently towards goals set by humans, for example, AI assistants or marketing managers. These technologies are evolving rapidly, but the principle remains unchanged: humans define direction and values; AI operates within boundaries.
Final Thought
AI isn’t something your business has to adopt entirely.
Instead, it can be a deliberate and targeted tool to achieve meaningful results.
You don’t need to implement AI in every aspect mentioned earlier. Begin by focusing on a single area – address a real problem.
This approach allows AI to support your small business effectively, rather than overwhelming it.
*We strive to do our best when supporting small business and their growth. Our business databases can give you information and data that can help you with advertising, market research, company information, and industry factsheets. If you have already taken the plunge, we would love for you to join us at a seminar, our workshops cover digital marketing, business model canvas and planning, demystifying taxes and intellectual property to name a few. Visit our events page or website for more information.
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