AI for small businesses

By starting with small, repetitive tasks you already do every day (writing emails, summarising documents, preparing quotes, answering frequently asked questions) with tools that already exist, before commissioning custom projects. The sensible thing is to try one specific use for a few weeks, see whether it really saves time and only then expand. It's less flashy than a big project, but getting it wrong is also much cheaper.

What confuses people most is thinking that bringing AI into the business requires a big project or a consultancy from day one. It almost always pays more to start small and learn along the way. That said, you need a few basic rules: what data never goes into an AI (personal data and client data, especially on free personal accounts), which accounts are used and who reviews what comes out. Without rules, every employee ends up using their favourite tool on their own, and nobody knows what information has left the company.

What I see working in small businesses I cover in two articles: "Invoices and quotes with the help of artificial intelligence", with a specific paperwork case, and "Artificial intelligence in your business without launching a project", with small uses to start with before spending on consultancy or development. If you have to pick one, start with the second.