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35 Best AI Tools For Small Business Owners To Be Productive

by Antispace

You finally leaped to start your own business. The road ahead of you is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned small business owner, there are challenges you’ll need to tackle head-on to reach your goals. One of the most critical hurdles to overcome is productivity. Stay on top of your productivity workflow, and you’ll be able to work smarter, not harder. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can make your life so much easier. In this article, we’ll show you how AI can address your productivity challenges and help you streamline your operations, so you can focus on growing your business. Antispace’s AI-based productivity operating system is a great place to start your journey. This innovative tool helps small business owners like you learn about, implement, and optimize AI tools for productivity.

How Can AI Tools Help Small Businesses

People Discussing - AI Tools for Small Business

Artificial intelligence has gone from a futuristic concept to a daily business tool. According to Salesforce’s Small Business Trends report, nearly 90% of small and medium-sized business (SMB) teams already use AI, and 60% say they either use generative AI or plan to. With a third of sales teams expecting to integrate it within the next two years, the shift is undeniable.

AI helps small businesses automate routine tasks, simplify planning, and reduce costs without needing large tech teams or budgets. Let’s explore how.

Smarter Business Planning in Less Time 

Traditionally, crafting a business plan or financial projection could take weeks, and even then, accuracy wasn’t guaranteed. With AI-powered tools, you can generate detailed business plans, market analysis, and investor-ready pitches in hours. AI does the heavy lifting with research and drafting, allowing you to focus on strategy and execution instead.

Fast, Affordable Content Creation  

From blog posts to social media captions, AI writing tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Bard make it easy for small teams to produce professional-grade content. Need images or videos too? AI tools like DALL·E can generate visuals from prompts, giving you high-quality creative assets without the cost of a whole design team.

This makes AI especially powerful for maintaining consistent content output across marketing channels, something most small businesses struggle to do manually.

Better Sales and Smarter Marketing  

AI gives small businesses an edge in understanding customer behavior. Using natural-sounding chatbots, it can analyze preferences, predict trends, and even automate lead engagement. This means more qualified leads and higher conversion rates.

You can also use AI to test and optimize ad campaigns. It helps pinpoint which creatives and messages are likely to perform best, helping you avoid wasteful spend.

Seamless Project Management  

AI tools simplify project management by handling admin tasks like data entry, scheduling, and status reporting. Natural Language Processing (NLP) can help teams communicate and delegate more efficiently.

The result? Faster delivery, less miscommunication, and better team time use. Even risk management gets an upgrade, AI can flag project bottlenecks early and suggest preventative steps before issues spiral.

Enhanced Customer Service 24/7  

AI chatbots are revolutionizing customer support. Available 24/7, they handle common queries instantly and free up your human team to tackle more complex issues. 

Integrated with your CRM, they can also track customer sentiment, making it easier to refine your offerings based on honest feedback. Small teams often find it impossible to manually maintain this level of responsiveness, but AI makes it easy and affordable.

Smarter, More Accurate Accounting  

Accounting tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and reconciliation are some of the easiest to automate with AI. NLP-powered tools can scan lengthy financial reports and generate insights in minutes.

Machine Learning (ML) can also detect anomalies and help identify fraud before it becomes costly. This means fewer manual errors, more strategic financial decisions, and tighter control over your cash flow.

Increased Productivity  

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE) survey reports that 76% of small business owners say AI allows them to focus on high-value tasks, such as developing new products or services or creating targeted marketing campaigns, driving increased productivity. 

This is often accomplished by automating manual or repetitive tasks. Consider the collection and verification of customer data. Rather than teams spending their time and resources inputting and checking data manually, AI can automate these tasks and increase overall accuracy.

35 Best AI Tools for Small Business Owners to Be Productive

Person Working - AI Tools for Small Business

1. Antispace: The AI Productivity Operating System for Business Owners

Antispace transforms your daily workflow with an AI-based productivity operating system. Our platform seamlessly integrates with your essential tools:

  • Email
  • Calendar
  • Notes

Our AI assistant handles everything from email management to task organization. We've built intelligence into every aspect of your workflow: 

  • Smart email responses
  • Automated calendar management
  • Enhanced note-taking
  • Streamlined task coordination

Your AI Executive Assistant for Effortless Productivity

Antispace is your virtual executive assistant. It reduces context switching and automates routine tasks, letting you focus on what matters while our AI handles the rest. 

Whether you're brainstorming ideas, managing communications, or coordinating projects, Antispace turns productivity from a chore into an engaging experience. Get started for free with one click today.

2. Agent.ai: Build Your AI Virtual Assistants

Agent.ai lets you hire and build “agents” like virtual assistants for your business. These agents can complete tasks like building marketing campaigns and providing your business with the latest trends and research. These AI agents aren’t like your average chatbot.

They can make tools like ChatGPT and Claude talk to each other and scrape information from search engines like Google and YouTube. When you combine these tools, you get a powerful assistant that can improve productivity at your business.

Build AI Agents Without Coding

Agent.ai is excellent because you don’t have to be a developer to build an agent. There’s no coding involved (unless you want to), and you can use a drag-and-drop builder to create an agent in minutes.

3. ChatGPT: The Famous AI Copywriting Assistant

ChatGPT is one of the most popular free AI tools on the market. It’s an advanced chatbot that can help write copy for your website, compose emails for your newsletter, or create social media captions for upcoming posts.

If you’re new to AI, learning how to work with ChatGPT can be tricky, but once you ramp up, you’ll have an AI assistant for many copywriting needs.

4. Canva: AI Image Generator

Canva offers a powerful AI image generator built into its platform. While AI image generation is still in its early phases, Canva’s tool creates impressively realistic images of people, like the one in the picture above.

This feature is excellent for creating stock photos for your website without paying a monthly subscription fee. The downside is that you can only make a limited images until you pay for a premium version.

5. Steve.ai: Create Marketing Videos in Minutes

Steve.ai is a video production tool that creates animated and live-action videos from scratch. You can even enter the address of a webpage, and the platform will analyze its content and make a video based on what it sees. It’s a handy tool if you’re looking to generate simple videos for your business that don’t require much hands-on editing.

One disadvantage is that it is pay-to-play, meaning you can start for free, but the most valuable features are provided at an additional cost.

6. Grammarly: Your AI Writing Assistant

Grammarly is an AI copywriting tool that helps you write and edit text. Its best feature is that it can be integrated into several other tools, such as Google Docs and email, so you always have it handy whenever you need a review of your writing.

Grammarly not only calls out spelling and grammar mistakes but also recommends condensing sentences and making paragraphs flow smoothly. This tool is excellent for double-checking an email before sending it to a client, but remember that Grammarly may provide recommendations that don’t match your intent if you use slang or buzzwords.

7. Photoroom: An Easy Graphic Design Tool

Photoroom is a design system for beginners. It allows you to take an existing image, remove its background, add new elements, and make other adjustments to produce an entirely new image. 

Photoroom is excellent for simple, graphic design projects, like creating a transparent background or adding a banner to a stock photo. To get more out of this tool, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium version, which offers features like resizing, AI shadows, and templates.

8. Beatoven.ai: Generate Custom Music for Your Projects

Beatoven.ai might be my new favorite app. You write the lyrics for a song, and the app creates music based on your selected genre, like techno, rock, country, and more.

The MP3 file is free to download, and you can easily share your audio on TikTok right after you create it. A few customization options make it a user-friendly tool for beginners looking to spin up a jingle for their business.

9. Buffer: Social Media Scheduling with AI

Buffer is a social media management platform that tracks posts published across all your channels. It now provides an AI assistant to help you craft effective messages that resonate with your target audience.

Not only does the AI write posts for you, but it also brainstorms ideas for future content based on the information you provide. One downside is that you have to pay for premium reporting features, making it difficult to determine how to improve your content over time.

10. Semrush: SEO Tools to Help You Rank on Google

Semrush is one of the most popular SEO products on the market. Its free account has tools to help you analyze website traffic and research keywords. The “position tracking” tool will also monitor topics you currently rank for and tell you how your ranking changes over time.

Overall, Semrush is an excellent resource for people new to SEO who want to learn what to look for and how to respond to search trends.

11. Whisper: Audio Transcription Tool

Whisper is an OpenAI tool that transcribes audio files into static lines of text. It can also help provide written transcripts of videos, phone calls, or podcasts your business has created.

For example, you could transcribe a conversation with a client and create a detailed summary of everything you discussed. The downside of this tool is that it is not very easy to use and requires a GitHub account to access it.

12. Claude: An Alternative to ChatGPT

Claude is a free AI assistant and a direct competitor of ChatGPT. It does all the same things as its OpenAI counterpart but differentiates itself as being more conversational and offering more accurate analyses.

Claude is a popular AI tool among website developers because it excels at having realistic conversations and answering questions related to technical topics. Claude can even code elements for your website and help you upload them, even if you aren’t an experienced developer.

13. Gemini: Another ChatGPT Alternative

Gemini is like ChatGPT; Google, not OpenAI, powers this tool. The difference? Gemini is trained on real-time data, so it’s slightly more up-to-date when recalling information. It can perform the same copywriting tasks as ChatGPT, but Gemini is geared more toward providing solutions to questions that Google’s search engine might be unable to answer.

14. Free AI Assistant: Choose Your AI

Free AI Assistant is different than the other tools in this section because you can choose the type of AI chatbot you want to work with. For example, the image above shows a conversation between me and a “Travel Chatbot.”

This AI assistant is an expert in travel planning and can help me plan my next trip. Chatbots are also for personal coaching, comedy lessons, and financial planning. These conversational bots make it feel like you’re asking a real expert for advice.

15. Perplexity: A Research Assistant for Your Business

Perplexity is another ChatGPT alternative that complements search engines like Google. It’s designed to be more accurate and up-to-date than ChatGPT, providing research-driven answers to topics that search engines typically struggle with.

For example, you can ask, “Who are the most popular YouTube creators of 2024?” Perplexity will provide a list of YouTubers and cite their many followers and the videos they’re known for. It’s like having a research assistant on your team to answer industry-specific questions.

16. Wordvice: An AI Tool for Academic Writing

Wordvice might look like a simple text translator, but it has many useful AI tools. For example, it has an AI proofreader that checks your writing for spelling and grammar mistakes. An AI detection tool also reviews your content and tells you if it looks and sounds like AI.

That’s handy for when you’re using other AI tools and want to make sure you’re not overdoing it. Additional features include an AI paraphraser, a plagiarism checker, and an extension that installs this software into your Microsoft Word app.

17. Gliglish: An AI Tool for Learning New Languages

Gligish is an AI language learning tool that helps you practice real-life scenarios, such as giving directions and describing your daily routine. First, select your language. Then, pick the situation you want to practice.

Gligish provides a chatbot that roleplays the scenario and recommends different responses. There are nearly 40 languages to choose from, and you can even request new practice scenarios by contacting the support team.

18. Zapier: The Automation Tool for Small Businesses

Zapier is one of my favorite apps because it connects other apps. For example, let’s say I use Gmail, and whenever I receive a new message, I want that email address added to a spreadsheet. I can create a “Zap” that automatically does this for me and ask Zapier’s AI assistant to help.

I just have to describe the Zap I want to create, and the AI assistant will build it for me. It’s great for people with no automation experience but who want to improve the efficiency of their business.

19. Reclaim.ai: Smart Calendar Management

Reclaim.ai is loaded with tools and features designed to optimize your workflow. One tool is a “smart meetings” feature that automatically schedules meetings based on your availability. You can also upload “habits,” which are routine tasks added to your calendar daily.

A reporting tool even tells you how productive you are each day. It takes time to master these features, but once you do, you’ll have a powerful scheduling assistant ready.

20. Taskade: AI-Enhanced Project Management

Taskade is a project management app with built-in AI features. Start by describing your project, including goals, deadlines, and benchmarks for success. Then, Taskade creates a chatbot specializing in helping you with that project.

It makes a timeline, outlines a step-by-step action plan, and edits the project based on your feedback. It also provides a dashboard to track performance over time and collaborate with coworkers.

21. Browse AI: Monitor Competitors’ Websites

Browse AI is a competitor analysis tool that helps you monitor other websites. For example, we want to monitor a competitor’s homepage. Browse AI will take a screenshot of their site every couple of weeks.

Over time, it builds a library of screenshots to compare for differences. Browse AI can also monitor sites for text changes, image swaps, and other updates your business wants to track.

Google Trends is a free AI tool that can help you understand what customers search for on search engines. First, you pick a topic or “keyword,” and Google shows you how popular that search has been over time. It can also show where people searching for this phrase are located and related topics they might be searching for.

You can even directly compare two keywords to see which is more popular. Google Trends is a convenient tool for researching what your customers might be looking for or interested in on the Internet.

23. Salesforce Einstein: AI for Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The whole organization could tap into Salesforce as a business platform. Its Einstein platform specializes in helping companies connect with customers to find and close new leads. Teams can use Salesforce Einstein to organize customer data, track interactions, automate workflows, and analyze performance, all in one place.

24. Outreach: AI for Sales Engagement

As the name suggests, Outreach is a sales engagement platform that uses AI to send personalized outreach emails to prospects, automate workflows, and optimize your outbound sales efforts.

Key features:

  • Multi-channel automation: Automate all your sales efforts, including emails and follow-up messages
  • Real-time analytics: Find out what potential customers are engaging with to make more informed business decisions 
  • Personalized outreach: Use AI to generate hyper-targeted sales content to capture customers’ attention 

25. Regie.ai: AI for Managing Outbound Sales Campaigns

Regie is a robust, all-in-one AI tool for outreach management. It can generate entire outreach campaigns from scratch with the help of generative AI. And it’s packed with lots of handy scheduling and email sequencing capabilities.

Key features:

  • AI agents: Let AI source and prioritize contacts, generate personalized messages across multiple channels, and engage with high-priority leads
  • Audience builder: Acquire new target accounts and contacts based on your ideal customer profile
  • Personalization prompts: Make your LinkedIn messages more relevant in a fraction of the time 

26. Dall-E: Generate Images From Text Prompts

DALL-E, also known as DALL-E 2, is a text-to-image diffusion model crafted by OpenAI. Its remarkable capability lies in generating lifelike images based on textual descriptions.

For instance, by providing a prompt like "a cat riding a unicycle on a rainbow," DALL-E 2 can conjure an image corresponding to that description. While DALL-E 2 is still in the developmental stages, it has already showcased its potential across various applications.

27. StoryChief: The Content Marketing Platform with AI

StoryChief is an all-in-one content marketing platform that leverages AI to streamline content creation and distribution.

Key features include:

  • Content Calendar: Provides an overview of your content and its progress, aiding in brainstorming, maintaining consistency, managing deadlines, and assigning articles to team members
  • Multi-Channel Publishing: Allows for one-click publishing across various platforms, including WordPress, Webflow, and custom websites via API integration
  • AI Power Mode: Assists in faster content creation by generating ideas and drafts, enhancing productivity
  • SEO Copywriting: Ensures your content is optimized for search engines, improving visibility and reach
  • Analytics & Reporting: Offers insights into content performance, helping refine strategies based on data-driven decisions

28. Trello AI: Smart Task Management

Trello AI enhances Trello boards with automation and intelligence for streamlined task management.

Key capabilities include:

  • Card Recommendations: Suggest relevant tasks or projects based on ongoing activities
  • Automated Updates: Keep boards up to date with status changes and deadlines
  • Collaborative Insights: Summarize team discussions and highlight action items
  • Custom Templates: Generate templates for recurring workflows or projects
  • Enhanced Visuals: Create visually appealing summaries and presentations for stakeholders

Trello AI simplifies collaboration and ensures projects move forward efficiently.

29.  Sisense: AI for Business Analytics

Analysts and developers use Sisense for data and business analytics. It offers low-code and no-code capabilities with a drag-and-drop interface and developer-first tools, SDKs, and APIs that embed analytics in your product and data pipeline.

Like most other tools on this list, it provides data visualization, analysis, and reporting capabilities and can answer questions about data using natural language processing and generative AI.

30. Microsoft Power BI: Business Intelligence Made Easy

Microsoft Power BI is another business analytics tool that supports data visualization, reporting, and analysis for almost any data source. Because it integrates with other Microsoft tools like Excel, it provides a centralized data hub with insights across services, making it an intuitive choice for organizations already using Microsoft services.

31. Tableau: User-Friendly Data Analytics

Tableau is a data visualization and analytics platform that doesn’t require coding experience to create and share reports. Tableau uses generative AI to automate task management, suggest questions, and deliver insights and explanations about your organization’s data in easy-to-understand language. This makes it a good tool for business leaders seeking a comprehensive overview of their business and non-technical employees looking to become more data-driven.

32. Xero: Accounting Software for Small Businesses

Xero is an online accounting software that simplifies financial management for small businesses. It offers features such as:

Xero’s AI-powered tools automate tedious accounting tasks, such as invoice reminders and expense categorization, saving businesses time and reducing the risk of errors. With its real-time insights and customizable reports, Xero helps businesses make informed decisions and control their finances.

33. Slack: A Collaboration Hub for Teams

Slack is a collaboration hub that enables teams to communicate, share files, and work together more effectively. It offers features such as channels, direct messages, and integrations with other tools and services.

Slack’s AI-driven features, such as smart replies and suggested channels, help users stay organized and productive by reducing noise and facilitating quicker decision-making. It’s an essential tool for businesses looking to streamline communication and collaboration across teams and departments.

34. Google Analytics: An Essential Tool for SEO

Google Analytics is a powerful web analytics service that gives businesses insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversion metrics. It offers features such as audience segmentation, behavior flow analysis, and goal tracking, allowing businesses to understand how users interact with their website and optimize their online presence accordingly.

With its AI-driven capabilities, Google Analytics can uncover hidden patterns and trends in data, helping businesses make data-driven decisions to improve website performance and user experience.

35. Hotjar: Understand User Behavior on Your Website

Hotjar is a website analytics and feedback tool that provides businesses with insights into user behavior through heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys. It offers features such as visitor heatmaps, click maps, and feedback polls, allowing businesses to understand how users interact with their website and identify areas for improvement.

Hotjar’s AI-driven capabilities, such as behavior analytics and predictive modeling, help companies to uncover hidden insights, prioritize optimization efforts, and enhance the user experience, ultimately driving higher engagement and conversion rates.

Choosing the Best AI Tools for Small Businesses

People in Meeting - AI Tools for Small Business

Choosing the right AI tools for your small business doesn’t have to feel like diving into a black hole of tech jargon and hype. Yes, there’s a lot out there, and according to Builder.ai’s recent survey, nearly 40% of small and medium businesses are feeling some serious “AI FOMO.” But that doesn’t mean everyone’s ready to jump in with both feet. Budget limitations, confusing integrations, and the big question, “Is this the right time?”, are real concerns.

The good news? You don’t need to adopt every shiny new AI tool. You just need the right one for your business. And that starts with getting clear on a few simple things.

1. What Do You Need Help With?

AI works best when solving a clear problem, not just sitting there looking clever. You may be spending too much time answering repetitive customer questions. Or your social media game is all over the place. Or your accounting system is eating up your lunch break.

Start by pinpointing your biggest operational headaches. That gives you a target. Then, look for purpose-built tools to fix those pain points, whether automating emails, generating content, analysing financial reports, or responding to customers after hours. 

2. Can It Play Nice with What You Already Use?

The most powerful AI tool in the world won’t do you any good if it doesn’t integrate with your existing systems. You shouldn’t have to overhaul your whole tech stack to use AI. Whether it’s your CRM, accounting platform, or e-commerce backend, any AI solution you bring should plug into your workflows without creating chaos.

Look for tools that advertise seamless integration with the apps you already rely on. Bonus points if they have strong customer support to help you set it all up. 

3. Will It Grow with You? 

You might be running lean now, but your business won’t stay small forever, at least, that’s the plan. Choose AI tools that are scalable. That means flexible pricing, the ability to add features or users down the line, and solid performance even as your data and customer base grow. This way, you’re not forced to ditch one system and learn another every time you level up. 

4. Is It Easy to Use?

If your team finds a tool confusing or clunky, they’ll avoid it. That’s why usability is a huge deal. You don’t need a PhD in computer science to take advantage of AI; you just need an intuitive, well-designed tool with good onboarding support. The best AI tools make your life easier, not more complicated. 

5. Will It Deliver Real Results?

AI should help your business run better, not just look impressive in a pitch deck. Whether it’s saving your team time, improving the customer experience, or increasing sales, you should be able to measure the impact. Set some clear goals before you dive in. That way, you’ll know whether the tool is worth the investment, and you can make smarter decisions going forward.Antispace: AI Productivity OS for Smarter Workflows

Antispace transforms your daily workflow with an AI-based productivity operating system. Our platform seamlessly integrates with your essential tools:

  • Email
  • Calendar
  • Notes

Our AI assistant handles everything from email management to task organization. We've built intelligence into every aspect of your workflow: 

  • Smart email responses
  • Automated calendar management
  • Enhanced note-taking
  • Streamlined task coordination

Your AI Executive Assistant for Effortless Productivity

Antispace is your virtual executive assistant. It reduces context switching and automates routine tasks, letting you focus on what matters while our AI handles the rest. 

Whether you're brainstorming ideas, managing communications, or coordinating projects, Antispace turns productivity from a chore into an engaging experience. Get started for free with one click today.

Implementing AI Tools for Your Small Business

Man Working - AI Tools for Small Business

Implementing AI in a small business can be approached through a simple step-by-step process.

1. Conduct a Survey

Consider using AI-powered survey software, such as Typeform. A visually appealing and interactive survey format can enhance the user experience through features like question branching, smart logic, and personalized survey paths. Advanced reporting and analytics enable businesses to analyze customer needs and identify potential product or service development opportunities.

2. Consider AI-powered Market Research Tools

Gain further insights into potential customers' needs by utilizing AI and machine learning to analyze social media conversations, online reviews, and other sources of customer feedback. 

This can help businesses understand consumer sentiment, identify trends, and track brand performance, supporting informed decision-making. Market research tools like Brandwatch can help gain this insight.

3. Utilize Data to Understand Customer Needs

With the data you have gathered, delve into your customers' needs. You can develop a customer avatar, which you can then use to target potential customers through AI-based ad tools like Google Ads or Facebook Ads.

This data-driven approach enables businesses to reach a wider audience based on their specific preferences and needs, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.

4. Create a Revenue Prediction Model

Once customers' highest needs have been identified, businesses can create a revenue prediction model to estimate the potential financial impact of developing, selling, and distributing a new product or service. By assessing the revenue projections and ensuring they align with desired outcomes, businesses can make informed decisions about whether to proceed with product development.

Businesses can also explore options such as presales to generate the funds required for product development or consider alternative products or services to test.

5. Test Your Product's or Service's Market Fit

Finally, businesses can test their research and analysis in the real world by marketing the new product or service to their current customers. This allows them to validate the accuracy of their predictions and assess the market response. Typically, new product offerings sell well to existing customers, providing a significant revenue boost and validating the AI-driven strategy's viability.

How AI Helps Small Businesses Thrive in Uncertain Times

While this step-by-step process serves as one approach, it highlights the growing significance of AI as a powerful ally in weathering uncertainty. Businesses can navigate economic downturns by enhancing productivity through automation, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, and leveraging AI for valuable customer insights.

With the right strategy, small business leaders can feel empowered to adapt, grow, and contribute to economic recovery, ensuring a brighter future in adversity.

Let Our AI-based Productivity Operating System Handle Your Boring Work

Productivity is boring. And so is writing about it. But it doesn't have to be. Antispace revolutionizes productivity by transforming your workflow into a gamified experience. Using AI, Antispace automates various tasks, including:

  • Email management
  • Note-taking
  • Calendar organization
  • Task coordination

With Antispace, you’ll spend less time on the repetitive parts of work and more time on the engaging parts, like brainstorming and project coordination. What's more, Antispace makes these transitions seamless. Their intelligent AI assistant helps you glide through your daily productivity tasks so you can focus on what matters to you and your business.