AI and Small Businesses: The Pros, Cons, and Feasibility

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way the world works. In business, AI offers multiple opportunities for streamlining, speeding up, and improving the way a company operates. A vast number of businesses have recognized the advantages of AI and adoption has more than doubled since 2017. In 2017, 20% of businesses were reportedly adopting AI in at least one area. In 2022, more than 50% of businesses are using it.

However, most people seem to think that AI is for larger businesses or multinational enterprises. If you run a small business, you’re probably thinking that AI isn’t for you—that you could never afford it or that it isn’t really feasible for your business. However, you couldn’t be more wrong. This technology is now available at prices that won’t hurt tight profit margins.

Why You Should Invest In AI

AI is no longer a Sci-Fi construct that belongs in books and films. It’s a reality that most of us actually interact with on a regular basis. If you’ve spoken to Siri, Alexa, or Google, you’ve used AI. If you have extra money, you can invest $1,000 for emergency funds for example.

What’s important to remember is that AI isn’t a replacement for human intelligence. It’s a technology that will help you enhance the way your business operates.

For example:

1. Chatbots For Customer Service

A chatbot is a software application that works over a messenger system and can hold conversations with multiple people at the same time. How sophisticated those conversations are will depend on how sophisticated the technology is, but you can do a lot with even a simple chatbot.

You can deploy them on your website and social media profiles to help answer frequently asked questions from potential customers. Chatbots can even help people through the process of signing up for an account, shopping, and making purchases.

2. Automated Searches Through Data For Human Resources

A major time sink for any business, big or small, is sifting through data. A great place for AI in a small business is to help you to sort through job applications when you’re hiring new employees. AI recruiting tools can scan resumes and portfolios for specific keywords and only show you the applicants that really meet the criteria you set.

You can also deploy chatbots and other AI technology to get the interview process started. The AI-enabled software can start asking questions and send follow-up questions based on the answers given. It can also set up in-person interviews for you. This will free up your time and ensure that you only end up speaking to the most suitable applicants.

3. Time Tracking Tools For Projects

If you charge by the hour or need to track hours worked for your employees, then you can deploy AI tracking software to help automate the process. The system will record the work done on your computers or machines, process those recordings, and provide you with accurate time sheets.

Using technology like this eliminates the chance of human error and helps you to see how efficiently your business operates. You can end up saving a lot of time and money with an AI system like this in place—far exceeding the capital outlay of the technology itself.

4. Better Cybersecurity

Online security and safety are a vital part of doing business today. You need to ensure that your website cannot be hacked, that your emails are secure, that any customer data that you store is safe, and that your network has strong defenses in place.

One of the best ways to ensure this is to utilize cybersecurity AI software. A decent system will be able to monitor all activity within your network and on your website and easily identify anything that’s out of the norm. This makes it much easier to spot cyber-attacks as they happen, and deploy security measures to keep the hackers or the malware out.

What To Consider Before Investing In AI

There are a few elements that you need to think about carefully before you invest in AI and deploy it for your small business:

The Cost

It’s true that the cost of many AI systems and software has come down significantly, making it far more affordable. It’s now possible to get ready-made systems that have been packaged for small businesses to use. However, to get a decent system, you will still need to invest a fair amount of money.

It’s vital that you do your research thoroughly and ensure that you can recoup the costs of the system based on the efficiencies it will provide. You can use small business accounting software to track your costs as well as manage your invoicing, accounting, and other financial processes.

How The System Gets Deployed

Once you’ve decided what AI system suits your requirements and how you want it to improve your business, you need to think about how it will get deployed. For example, a customer service chatbot that’s slow, unresponsive or programmed incorrectly will only end up annoying your clients and driving them away from your business.

It’s absolutely vital that you consider how the AI system will be used and ensure that it gets set up in such a way that it will help your business. Again, this comes down to thorough research on the features of the system you want to deploy and how those features can be used.

Remember, as a small business owner or operator, you probably won’t be able to hire an expert in machine learning to ensure everything is set up correctly and run the testing. You will need to rely on your own abilities and the after sales support from the company providing you with the AI software.

AI Is An Option For Small Businesses

The beauty of the way technology is advancing is that even small businesses can benefit from systems that use AI. The cost barrier is becoming less and less of an obstacle, helping companies and organizations of all sizes to take advantage of this cutting-edge technology and improve the way they operate.

For now, small businesses are going to be largely limited to packaged AI systems that are built for a wide range of uses, but even this gives your company an edge over your competitors.

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