AI for Small Business: A Practical Starter Playbook

Small businesses gain more from AI than enterprises do — the same tools, none of the bureaucracy. This playbook is the condensed version of what actually works for teams under 20 people.

The starter stack costs under $100 a month: one AI assistant subscription for everyone (writing, analysis, brainstorming), Canva for design, an AI email tool for the inbox, and n8n or Make for automation. The first five automations to build: customer inquiry auto-drafts, invoice data entry, social content repurposing, review monitoring with response drafts, and a weekly numbers digest.

One rule keeps it profitable: automate tasks you already do repeatedly, never invent new work because AI makes it possible. Measure hours saved monthly — if a tool is not saving time by week four, cut it.