AI For Small Business (Tools and Best Practices)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has gone mainstream. It’s here. In fact, according to Salesforce’s Small Business Trends report, approximately nine in 10 small and medium-sized business (SMB) teams are using AI. 60% say they are currently using generative AI (GenAI) or plan to use it. And, 33% of sales teams expect to use it within two years.

As a small business owner, are you ready for it? We’ll break down AI tools for small business — its benefits, challenges, the right tools, and how to prepare for an AI-driven future.

What you’ll learn:

• What is AI for small business?
• Why small businesses should embrace AI
• Best practices for implementing AI in small business
• Challenges in adopting AI for small businesses
• The future of AI in small business
• What to look for in AI for small business solutions
• Making the most of AI for SMBs

What is AI for small business?

AI for small business is simply utilizing artificial intelligence solutions for remedial tasks that take up time and resources. AI tools are designed to mimic portions of human intelligence, specifically information processing and decision-making. For small businesses, AI offers the opportunity to streamline processes, reduce manual effort, and keep overhead costs down.

While AI deployments for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are typically smaller scale than larger enterprises, they can have a big impact. For instance, with the right customer relationship management (CRM) you can install a free chatbot to respond to customers. 

Many small businesses have a small IT team, or none at all. AI-enabled functions, such as process and software monitoring, can help reduce IT issues without adding complexity. AI can support small teams by assisting with smaller tasks and making their overall job more efficient.

Why small businesses should embrace AI

With the growth of AI, consider it a bonus for your small business. It will only get easier for you, from here on out. There are several benefits of AI for small businesses, including:

Improved customer service

Our research shows that 65% of customers now expect companies to adapt to their changing needs and preferences. AI makes it possible to respond quicker to customer needs on prospects’ preferred channels and address issues in near real time.

Chatbots are a good example of this. Using machine learning (ML) algorithms, chatbots are trained to answer common customer questions using large data sets. The more data used, the better the initial outcome, but these tools can also learn as they interact with customers over time.

Additionally, when AI tools are integrated with customer relationship management (CRM) databases, SMBs can analyze customer interactions and create personalized offers and messaging for different customer segments. This can help make customers feel special and boost long-term loyalty.

Increased productivity

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE) survey reports that 76% of small business owners say AI allows them to focus on high-value tasks, such as developing new products or services or creating targeted marketing campaigns, driving increased productivity. This is often accomplished by automating manual or repetitive tasks.

Consider the collection and verification of customer data. Rather than teams spending their time and resources inputting and checking data manually, AI can automate these tasks and increase overall accuracy.

Reduced costs

AI can also help reduce operational costs by automating tasks that do not require a close human touch — such as data entry, routine customer service inquiries, appointment scheduling, and follow-ups. AI is an especially cost-effective choice for large-scale data analysis projects since it can work during off hours, is less likely to make errors, and can be customized to deliver specific data outputs.

Better marketing content

Thanks to the rise of generative AI (GenAI), SMBs can now use AI tools to create marketing, sales, product, and blog content faster than ever. Generative AI uses a combination of large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) to answer straightforward questions, and create easy marketing assets.

For example, businesses can use GenAI to create marketing emails, get ideas for blog topics, or improve business operations. The caveat, however, is that AI is best suited for tasks that are simple and standardized. Overuse can lead to decreased consumer engagement because AI-generated content can begin to appear formulaic or repetitive. To maintain a unique voice and perspective, it’s still vitally important for humans to oversee AI content creation.

Best practices for implementing AI in small business

AI tools are designed to help existing processes. As a result, they’re not set-and-forget. Instead, SMBs need to develop AI business strategies that address current business needs, potential integration issues, and employee education. Some best practices for implementing AI include:

Define specific use cases

To stay competitive and ahead of the curve, companies may choose to rapidly deploy AI without clearly defining its purpose. This quick-to-adopt approach can lead to businesses that don’t fully understand or utilize their AI tools. To maximize AI impact, start by identifying specific use cases that AI can help your business with and then research the right tools for the job.

Consider possible pain points

With digital transformation now essential for SMB success, it’s easy to assume that AI tools will work seamlessly alongside your existing solutions. But this isn’t always the case.

If you use purpose or custom-built software, for example, it may not be designed to interact with AI tools, which require continual connectivity and ongoing data queries. To avoid creating new challenges for yourself, it’s important to consider possible pain points and research which tools can integrate with your current software.

In the case of legacy tools or custom-built solutions, you may be able to use a customized API — a software interface that allows two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. But it’s better for SMBs to complete this task before AI tools are up and running to avoid common issues like missing or lost data.

Educate your team

Finally, you should educate your teams on the use of AI tools. This includes operational basics and usage expectations. From an operational standpoint, SMBs should bring in teams before tools are deployed. Explain common functions — those that interact with existing tools and those that are entirely new.

Owners also need to lay out clear ground rules for AI usage, especially when it comes to customer data. Teams need to know what data can be used, how it can be used, and what to do with data once the analysis is complete.

Challenges in adopting AI for small businesses

While AI offers significant advantages for small businesses, it also comes with potential challenges.

Data security

According to our research, 68% of customers say advances in AI make it more important for companies to be trustworthy. With personalization at the forefront of customer expectations, SMBs must collect personal data as part of creating meaningful customer experiences. Most consumers are willing to share this data if told exactly what will be collected, how it will be used, and if it will be shared with third parties.

AI solutions can analyze large data sets for commonalities and potential patterns. This helps SMBs craft personalized advertising and sales campaigns. But, if AI tools are compromised, attackers could gain access to protected consumer information, requiring companies to disclose data breaches and damaging consumer trust. To address this issue, SMBs must ensure AI tools fall within the scope of existing security tools, and that all data handled by AI is anonymized and encrypted wherever possible.

Standardization

According to the SBE Council survey, 85% of SMBs believe that the government must balance regulation and innovation in AI. However, in its current state, the AI market is too fragmented to support widespread standardization. As a result, SMBs must rely on AI providers to ensure tools satisfy data handling and privacy requirements like those laid out in regulations such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

The future of AI in small business

Here are two trends to watch as AI in small business continues to develop:

1. In-depth integration

Although the rapid development of AI tools has shifted from enterprise-only solutions to commercially available offerings, many of these solutions are surface-level. While they may offer advantages such as automation and personalization, they’re often afterthoughts.

For example, a data analytics provider might use the term “AI” to describe its collection and analysis process, when in fact AI is only used to evaluate the presence of data outliers. New solutions are likely to put AI at the core of business processes. Examples include PCs that feature neural processing units (NPUs) and applications capable of carrying out large-scale AI processes on local devices without the need for cloud connectivity. According to Gartner, companies will go “all in” on AI-enabled PCs by 2026.

2. Impact of generative AI

Right now, GenAI tools are being used to create sales and marketing content, improve chatbot operations, and increase personalization. As natural language processing (NLP) algorithms improve, however, GenAI solutions will shift toward more industry-specific models that may help improve accuracy and reduce computational demand, according to recent Gartner predictions.

What to look for in an AI for small business solution

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to AI, for some SMBs, it makes sense to conduct a complete overhaul of existing processes and replace them with AI-enabled tools. For others, AI integration may not make sense, making it a better choice to find solutions that work alongside current processes. Look for AI technology that can adapt to your business needs, rather than solutions that require you to change your approach.

It’s also important to seek out solutions that streamline customer support processes and are easy for staff to understand, use, and apply in practice. We are happy to throw our hat in the ring for consideration:

Salesforce AI for small business

If you’re looking for an AI solution that’s built for small businesses and that puts you in control, consider the following tools:

• Agentforce: Salesforce’s Agentforce is a comprehensive solution designed to empower teams by providing them with a unified, AI-powered workspace. It integrates various tools and data sources, enabling agents to deliver personalized and efficient support across multiple channels. With features like case management, knowledge articles, and AI-driven insights, Agentforce helps streamline workflows, reduce response times, and enhance the overall customer experience.
• Einstein AI: Salesforce’s Einstein AI is designed to help small businesses make smarter decisions. It offers features like predictive analytics, natural language processing, and machine learning to automate tasks and provide insights.
• Sales Cloud Einstein: Sales Cloud helps small businesses improve their sales processes by providing AI-driven insights, such as lead scoring, opportunity insights, and forecasting.
• Service Cloud Einstein: For customer service, Einstein AI offers features like case classification, recommended responses, and next best actions to help small businesses resolve customer issues more efficiently.
• Marketing Cloud Einstein: This AI tool helps small businesses personalize their marketing efforts with features like predictive scoring, engagement scoring, and send-time optimization.
• Einstein Analytics: Einstein Analytics provides small businesses with advanced analytics capabilities, allowing them to explore data, uncover insights, and make data-driven decisions.
• Einstein Voice: This feature allows small businesses to interact with Salesforce using voice commands, making it easier to update records and get insights on the go.
• Einstein Bots: Small businesses can use Einstein Bots to build and deploy chatbots that can handle customer inquiries, freeing up time for their teams to focus on more complex tasks.
• Integration: Salesforce AI tools can be integrated with other Salesforce products and third-party apps, allowing small businesses to streamline their workflows and maximize their investments.

Making the most of AI for SMBs

Make the most of AI for your small business. From chatbots to generative AI and data entry, artificial intelligence tools offer a host of benefits to help boost bottom lines and keep companies ahead.

Salesforce Starter allows you to try out some of these tools for free. Check out a demo or start for free today and make the most of AI for your small business.