40 AI use cases for small business
Grouped by the part of the business they help. Each one has the tools, a prompt to copy, steps and my honest verdict.
Marketing (8)
- Marketing
Write a month of social media post ideas
ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini (free tiers work)
- Marketing
Turn one blog post into five social posts
ChatGPT or Claude
- Marketing
Draft a monthly email newsletter
ChatGPT, Claude, plus your email tool (Mailchimp, MailerLite etc.)
- Marketing
Write Google Business Profile updates
ChatGPT or Gemini
- Marketing
Write product or service descriptions
ChatGPT or Claude
- Marketing
Brainstorm blog topics customers actually search for
ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity
- Marketing
Rewrite your website 'About' page
ChatGPT or Claude
- Marketing
Create alt text for website images
ChatGPT or Gemini (with image upload)
Admin (8)
- Admin
Summarise long email threads
Gmail with Gemini, Outlook with Copilot, or paste into ChatGPT
- Admin
Draft polite but firm emails
ChatGPT or Claude
- Admin
Turn meeting notes into actions
ChatGPT, Claude, or the summary feature in Zoom/Teams/Google Meet
- Admin
Write a standard operating procedure (SOP)
ChatGPT or Claude
- Admin
Draft job ads and position descriptions
ChatGPT or Claude
- Admin
Organise your week from a brain dump
ChatGPT or Claude
- Admin
Proofread documents before they go out
ChatGPT, Claude, or the built-in editor in Word/Google Docs
- Admin
Translate customer messages
ChatGPT, Google Translate, or DeepL
Sales (7)
- Sales
Write a follow-up email after a quote
ChatGPT or Claude
- Sales
Prepare for a sales call
ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity
- Sales
Write a proposal first draft
ChatGPT or Claude
- Sales
Handle common objections
ChatGPT or Claude
- Sales
Write a referral request email
ChatGPT or Claude
- Sales
Clean up and segment a customer list
ChatGPT (with file upload) or Excel/Google Sheets with Copilot or Gemini
- Sales
Write a simple sales page
ChatGPT or Claude
Customer service (6)
- Customer service
Reply to Google reviews
ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini
- Customer service
Build an FAQ from your inbox
ChatGPT or Claude
- Customer service
Write template replies for common questions
ChatGPT or Claude, plus Gmail templates or Outlook Quick Parts
- Customer service
Handle an upset customer
ChatGPT or Claude
- Customer service
Write onboarding emails for new customers
ChatGPT or Claude
- Customer service
Create a customer feedback survey
ChatGPT plus Google Forms or Microsoft Forms
Finance (5)
- Finance
Explain your profit and loss in plain English
ChatGPT or Claude (or your accountant's AI features in Xero/MYOB)
- Finance
Write a polite overdue invoice reminder
ChatGPT or Claude, plus Xero/MYOB/QuickBooks reminders
- Finance
Categorise expenses from a bank export
ChatGPT (with file upload) or Excel/Google Sheets with AI
- Finance
Compare supplier quotes
ChatGPT or Claude
- Finance
Draft a simple cash flow forecast
ChatGPT plus Excel or Google Sheets
Operations (6)
- Operations
Write a checklist for a repeat job
ChatGPT or Claude
- Operations
Plan a roster or schedule
ChatGPT or Claude, plus your rostering tool (Deputy, Tanda etc.)
- Operations
Write a supplier or contractor brief
ChatGPT or Claude
- Operations
Create staff training quizzes
ChatGPT or Claude, plus Google Forms
- Operations
Review a contract for things to ask about
ChatGPT or Claude
- Operations
Find the bottlenecks in a process
ChatGPT or Claude