It’s no secret that large companies are using generative artificial intelligence to move forward, but many small and medium-sized businesses are also finding ways to leverage this technology to their advantage.
To be clear, according to the 2024 State of Small Business Survey conducted by small business software company Gusto among 1,300 respondents, the majority of small and medium-sized businesses have never even considered using gen AI in their operations. portion (43%) still exists. But nearly a third have tried it, and a quarter have already seen positive effects, the survey found.
Nicholas Tremper, senior economist at Gusto, said the biggest benefit for small and medium-sized businesses using artificial intelligence is that it gives them an edge in the competition for talent.
“Small businesses are telling us that hiring continues to be difficult,” Tremper said. “Employees are looking for ways to best utilize their skills within the business.”
Mr. Tremper said that while owners and employees are pressed for time and resources and face many challenges, workplaces can become more attractive by allowing employees to focus on the skills they want to use, and artificial intelligence takes care of the excess. He said it would become a target. Gusto’s report explains why small businesses equipped with Gen AI are 45% more likely to fill open roles.
Industries most affected by the labor shortage in the United States include education, health care, hospitality, and professional services, which include a wide range of fields such as legal services, landscaping, janitorial services, and waste disposal. Gusto has found that it is in some of these same industries that Gen AI is most useful. “These businesses are not only important to the local economy, they are important to the local culture,” he said.
Rick Nelson, founder and executive director of Peer Power, a nonprofit disability advocacy group based in Anchorage, Alaska, has cerebral palsy, a severe form of cerebral palsy that was acquired in an accident shortly after birth. Although he wasn’t expected to survive, he now has three degrees and runs his own small business, among other accomplishments.
In a written interview conducted with the help of generative AI, Nelson said, “I have difficulty typing, so AI helps me incorporate my information more effectively and quickly into articles and presentations.” ”.
He used gen AI to proofread his own work, help submit highly complex grant proposals, and even write a book. Nelson said that because of her disability, she used to have to give short and incomplete answers, but thanks to AI, she can now “share all my ideas and visions.”
“If small businesses have a strong vision and strategy, they can communicate as powerfully as large businesses,” Nelson said. “It also opens up avenues for people with disabilities to start more businesses, be more successful, and earn their own money, reducing the need to rely entirely on public assistance.”
Nelson is currently creating his own AI “clone” on Delphi. By uploading 422,000 documents to a database, people who work with him or receive consulting from him can chat with Krohn about his opinions, ideas, and even his own experiences in life and business. You can. Additionally, Nelson’s voice was now understandable to people at its normal tempo, without the need for dubbing or interpretation.
Todd Miller, president of Isaiah Industries, an Ohio-based company that manufactures specialty metal roofing materials for homes and has a team of about 50 people, does content creation, website copywriting, and podcast ideation. In addition to using gen AI for scriptwriting, his colleagues recently used the technology to create training videos for contractors selling their products. “Originally, we were just going to shoot videos, but we decided that AI could save us time and provide training to our customers faster,” he said.
In early 2024, Bennett Camarda and her husband Bill took over Limitless Fitness, a New Hampshire gym with over 10 trainers and 150 active one-on-one clients. “We are using AI to accelerate growth and scale our business while keeping our customers at the heart of our business,” said Camarda.
Camarda said he used ChatGPT Premium to create Excel formulas that helped streamline contract work from a process that took hours to one that took minutes. “From strength training for grandparents to optimizing performance for golfers, it also helped us revamp our brand strategy and refine our tone, voice and message to further resonate with our evolving customer base,” said Camarda. said. Not to mention use cases like creating operations manuals or creating heatmaps to track your busiest times so you can add training sessions where you need them most.
While taking over a new business requires a learning curve, Camarda said they have already nearly closed the -5% year-over-year revenue gap left by the previous owner and have driven trainer-client engagement to an all-time high. Ta. .
“Gen AI has freed up our time to invest in our community and focus on opening our second location instead of getting bogged down in the day-to-day business weeds,” she said.
A recent American Express study found that small business owners who implement AI feel they are better positioned for growth and expansion (50% of businesses implementing AI % plan to increase their workforce in 2025, compared to 36% of business owners who have not implemented AI).
“Small business owners are the chief executives of everything,” Tremper said. “They hire early employees to help build their business, and they wear as many hats as they wear. Gen AI not only takes off the hats of business owners; We also do some of that for our employees and help them be more productive. ”
Tremper said artificial intelligence is not lacking in risks, such as data security and illusions, but small business owners are treading carefully to avoid major pitfalls. “People are thinking so much about this technology and how to implement it in a way that improves business and the workforce,” he said.
