How to Use AI for Your Small Business (Without a CS Degree)

You’ve heard the hype. AI is changing everything. Companies are saving millions. The future is here.

Cool. But what does that actually mean for your business?

If you’re a small business owner with 5-50 employees, the AI conversation can feel like it’s happening in a different language. Enterprise solutions that cost six figures? Not helpful. Academic papers about transformer architectures? Even less helpful.

What you need is practical guidance: where should AI fit into your business, and how do you actually get started?

Let me break it down.

Step 1: Audit Your Time (Seriously)

Before you touch a single AI tool, spend one week tracking how you and your team spend time. I mean really tracking it. Write down every task, every day.

You’re looking for three things:

1. Repetitive tasks — Things you do the same way, over and over (data entry, scheduling, report generation)
2. Communication-heavy tasks — Follow-ups, reminders, standard responses
3. Content creation — Writing listings, social posts, proposals, documentation

These three categories are where AI delivers the fastest, most reliable results for small businesses.

Step 2: Pick Your First Win

Don’t try to automate everything at once. Pick one workflow — ideally something that:

• Takes at least 2-3 hours per week
• Is repetitive and predictable
• Doesn’t require deep expertise or judgment
• Would make someone’s life measurably better if it went faster

For most small businesses, the first win is usually in one of these areas:

Email and Communication

• Drafting responses to common customer inquiries
• Follow-up sequences for leads or clients
• Appointment reminders and confirmations

Content and Marketing

• Social media posts
• Blog content or newsletter drafts
• Product descriptions or listing copy

Admin and Operations

• Data entry from forms to spreadsheets
• Invoice processing
• Meeting summaries and action items

Step 3: Choose Tools, Not Platforms

Here’s a mistake I see constantly: business owners sign up for the biggest, most expensive AI platform they can find, thinking it’ll solve everything.

It won’t.

Instead, look for specific tools that solve specific problems. Some of my most-recommended tools for small businesses:

• ChatGPT or Claude — For drafting content, summarizing documents, and brainstorming
• Zapier — For connecting tools and automating workflows between them
• Calendly — For scheduling without the back-and-forth
• Otter.ai — For meeting transcription and summaries
• Canva — For quick graphic design with AI-assisted features

The key is matching the right tool to the right problem. A $20/month tool that automates one specific workflow is worth more than a $500/month platform you never fully learn.

Step 4: Set Up, Don’t Just Sign Up

This is where most DIY AI attempts fail. You sign up for a tool, poke around for 20 minutes, and then never open it again.

To actually get value from AI tools:

1. Block 2 hours for initial setup (no shortcuts)
2. Start with one use case — don’t explore every feature
3. Create templates — if you’re using ChatGPT, write specific prompts for your common tasks
4. Commit to 2 weeks — it takes about 10 days of daily use before a new tool becomes habit
5. Measure the results — track time saved, not just “it feels faster”

Step 5: Scale What Works

Once your first AI workflow is humming along, add the next one. Repeat the process:

1. Identify the time sink
2. Find the right tool
3. Set it up properly
4. Measure results
5. Move to the next one

Most small businesses can get 3-5 AI workflows running within their first month, saving 5-15 hours per week combined.

When to Get Help

DIY works great for simple tools like ChatGPT and Calendly. But there comes a point where you need someone who knows the landscape:

• When you need tools to talk to each other (integrations)
• When you’re dealing with sensitive data (healthcare, legal, financial)
• When you’ve tried tools that didn’t stick and want to understand why
• When you want a comprehensive strategy, not just individual tools

That’s what I do. I help small businesses build an AI strategy that fits their specific situation, then I set everything up and make sure it works.

The Bottom Line

AI isn’t magic, and it’s not going to run your business for you. But for small businesses willing to invest a few hours learning the right tools, it’s the biggest productivity multiplier since email.

Start small. Pick one thing. Make it work. Then do it again.

And if you want help figuring out where to start, book a strategy session. I’ll tell you exactly which AI tools make sense for your business — in 90 minutes.