Small Businesses Can Use AI To Operate For A Fraction Of The Cost — These Experts Reveal How

From creating a business plan to screening job candidates, there are diverse ways to use artificial intelligence tools in your small business. As AI continues to improve and develop, businesses are increasingly able to use AI in almost every corner of their work, often for a fraction of what it would cost to expand their workforce.

“Artificial intelligence has the potential to fundamentally (reshape) the landscape for small and medium businesses,” says Itamar Shabtai, director at the Center for Information Systems & Technology at Claremont Graduate University. “It is no longer a distant frontier or an exclusive tool for corporate giants.”

Many companies are already finding value in using AI in their work — 82 percent of small businesses view AI as helpful in their business, and 65 percent of small businesses are already using AI, especially in finance and accounting, customer support and HR, according to a survey from Paychex.

But in the fast-moving world of AI, it’s not always obvious what tools are available and how you can use them. To better understand AI’s capabilities and determine the best tools for business owners, Bankrate spoke to experts in AI, business and executive leadership. Their responses illustrate the many job functions AI can plug into and how small businesses can best use AI to improve their productivity and operations.

1. Marketing and communications

There’s vast potential to use AI in marketing, public relations and social media, according to experts. AI platforms can help expand a small business’s reach through plugging in on content creation and audience analysis, all for a fraction of the cost of hiring a person. For example, small businesses can use AI for marketing tasks that would have occupied an entire staff, according to Chris Ferris, Ph.D., a Rice University Business School lecturer.

Specifically, small businesses can use AI to create:

• marketing assets, such as logos and website designs.
• ad copy, social media content and website content, such as blogs, product descriptions and video scripts.
• audience personas and to help refine online advertising strategies.
• tailored messaging and A/B testing.

“Generative AI stands out as an accessible powerhouse for SMBs (small and medium businesses), particularly in content creation,” adds Shabtai. “Small businesses leverage AI-driven tools to produce tailored marketing materials — blog posts, social media content, advertising copy — with unprecedented speed and effectiveness.”

Furthermore, for internal communications, Mina Haque, an attorney and adjunct professor at the American University Washington College of Law, says AI is great at creating basic internal documents, like training materials.

“For businesses with limited staff and resources, AI tools can efficiently generate daily operational guidelines, meeting agendas, customer correspondence and marketing content that would otherwise consume valuable time,” Haque says.

However, she emphasizes some documentation, like legal documents, would need to be reviewed by a licensed attorney to ensure accuracy.

2. Customer service and insights

Customer service is key to many small businesses, but it usually means hiring people to answer phones, respond to customers’ emails and perform other time-consuming tasks. Dan Yelle, the chief data and analytics officer at Credibly, a small business lending platform, says AI can help small businesses by quickly assessing customers and running approvals. This is a process that normally takes days or weeks, but with AI, it could take just hours.

“This allows a small firm to punch well above its weight class in terms of customer acquisition and leave human staff to refine the customer service process to a higher quality than the competition,” Yelle says.

Also, if you’ve ever seen a pop-up on a small business’ website directing you to chat with a virtual customer service agent, you know how useful AI can be for answering customers’ basic questions. Tony Tong, co-founder and chief technology officer at Intellectia AI, an AI-powered investing platform, says chatbots and virtual assistants are already processing the majority of day-to-day questions for many small businesses.

3. Sales

From drafting a sales pitch to reducing customer churn, AI can add plenty of value for a small sales team. Tomas Rasymas, head of AI at Hostinger, a website hosting platform, says AI tools can analyze historical data and consumer behavior to predict sales and identify patterns — a lifesaver for many sales teams. With AI, small teams can prioritize tasks and close deals faster than ever.

AI can also: 

• identify and prioritize leads.
• track customer sentiment, market shifts and competitor activities in real time.
• drive customer relationship management software, recommending next steps to sales representatives and pulling leads.

4. Operations and human resources

AI can also perform many basic tasks that would normally need an administrative assistant, according to experts. Additionally, while AI probably can’t interview a candidate for you, it can perform some other HR tasks:

• summarize documents, such as meeting notes.
• improve or generate whole emails.
• automate administrative tasks like bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing and financial forecasting.
• screen candidates and schedule interviews, as well as identify retention risks early.

AI can be a gamechanger — if you exercise caution

While AI is a useful tool, small businesses should put guardrails in place to ensure their AI-created content is accurate.

Yusen Xia, Ph.D., a professor and director of the Institute for Insight at Georgia State University, points out that Language Learning Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini can hallucinate, meaning they can present misleading or inaccurate information. Most content, especially legal and financial materials, should be reviewed by a professional before being used. Publishing misleading or inaccurate information could damage your businesses’ credibility, or even lead to regulatory or legal issues.

“AI can help small businesses to (do) more things with fewer staff,” Ferris adds. “But the key is not to simply publish AI-generated content or assets. Humans still need to be involved in guiding, reviewing, checking and improving any output from AI tools.”

What’s more, if you’re a small business owner, you should also take care not to plug customer data (such as Social Security numbers and bank information) or other sensitive information into a third-party AI tool, such as ChatGPT. It’s an existing concern: More than half (54 percent) of small businesses say data privacy and security are a primary challenge to adopting AI, according to Paychex.

AI can make it more affordable to run your business — just try to avoid subscription creep

You should also be cognizant of costs when using AI tools. While most AI chatbots are more affordable than hiring someone to complete the task, they can still come with their own fees.

ChatGPT, for one, has tiers ranging from free to $200 a month, while Claude has tiers ranging from free to $100 per month. If you choose to pay for an AI service, make sure to be aware of subscription creep, especially if you’ve recently started your small business and are trying to keep down costs. Americans already spend an average of $91 on subscription services each month, according to CNET, and some AI services charge double that.

The bottom line

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

“AI in 2025 is not just for Fortune 500s,” Tong says. “It’s the ultimate force multiplier for small business owners — liberating them from mundane tasks so they can concentrate on growth, innovation, and customers.”

Experts interviewed by Bankrate

Bankrate interviewed eight experts from universities and companies across the country for their insights about AI and small businesses:

Chris Ferris, Ph.D., is a lecturer at Rice Business in Houston, TX, where he teaches a self-designed class on digital strategy to MBA students. He also works as SVP of digital strategy at Pierpont Communications, a PR and marketing firm headquartered in Houston. He has a MA in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

Mina Haque
Adjunct professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law

Mohaimina “Mina” Haque is the CEO of Tony Roma’s, where she is spearheading a strategic transformation to revitalize the iconic 53-year-old restaurant chain. Alongside her executive role, Mina runs a successful law firm specializing in immigration and corporate law, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.
Mina is also an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law, where she teaches law practice management. Mina was named one of Women We Admire’s Top Women Leaders of DC for 2024 and Top Attorney of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals in 2023.

Tomas Rasymas
Head of AI, Hostinger

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—developing intelligent chatbots, shaping the future of website builders with AI, and integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into products. He also founded 00AI Community, a space for AI professionals and enthusiasts to connect, share knowledge, and push the field forward in Lithuania. Passionate about AI’s potential, Tomas enjoys mentoring teams, experimenting with new ideas and contributing to AI discussions.

Itamar Shabtai
Director of the Center for Information Systems & Technology, Claremont Graduate University

Itamar Shabtai is the director of the Center for Information Systems and Technology (CISAT) and the director of the Doctor of Technology program at CGU. From 2015 to 2021, Shabtai was the dean of the School of Economics and vice rector for teaching and quality, as well as the Janusz Korczak Chair for Academic Education in The Digital Age at the College of Management Academic Studies. He also served as the head of the Information Systems and Data Analytics program.

Tony Tong, Ph.D.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Intellectia AI

Tony Tong is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Intellectia AI, bringing over 15 years of distinguished experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IT leadership. A recognized innovator, Tony holds more than 20 international patents and has a robust track record of pioneering advanced technology solutions across diverse industries.
Prior to Intellectia AI, Tony served as CTO and Head of AI/ML at Auditoria.ai, where he developed an advanced conversational AI platform designed for finance back-office automation. His impressive career also includes leading machine learning research at BlackRock’s Knowledge Discovery Team, contributing to ML-driven trading strategies at Sentient Investment Management, and holding executive R&D positions at Punchh Inc. and Luminus Devices.
Tony’s interdisciplinary expertise is backed by extensive academic credentials, including dual Bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Science and Technology of China, a Master’s in Financial Engineering from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, and a Ph.D. in Nano-Engineering from UC Berkeley.

Yusen Xia, Ph.D.
Anne and Michael D. Easterly Distinguished Professor, Director at the Institute for Insight, Georgia State University

Dr. Xia’s research interests include machine learning, deep learning and generative AI, structured and unstructured data analytics, healthcare analytics, and operations and supply chain management. He has been applying and advancing different analytics methods to solve business problems in different industries. His research has been published in top journals such as Management Science, Operations 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 has been supported by National Science Foundation and many companies from the industry. He is currently a senior editor of Production and Operations Management Journal.

Dan Yelle
Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Credibly

As Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Credibly, Dan Yelle is responsible for driving strategies through data science and analytics across the risk management lifecycle, including leading the development of AI and Machine Learning applications. Dan holds Master’s degrees in Applied Statistics from Cornell University and Physics from Syracuse University, following his undergraduate work at the University of Pittsburgh.