Introduction
In today’s fast-paced business world, small businesses find every possible way to stay competitive and using AI tools is key for small businesses to grow. Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just a thing of the future anymore—it’s here now, transforming how businesses run.
From improving customer service to optimizing marketing efforts, AI tools can help small business owners save time, reduce costs, and boost their chances of success.
Advantages of AI Tools for Small Businesses
As a small business owner, I look for ways to work better and faster. They make my business work better, save money, and make customers happier.
AI tools are great because they do the boring stuff for me. This lets me think about big plans. Studies show businesses using AI get 40% more sales, showing how powerful AI can be.
AI also helps me make smart choices with data. It looks at lots of data and finds things I might miss. This is key for growing my business and finding new chances to grow.
AI makes my customers happier too. It helps me understand what they like and want. This makes them stick around and care more about my business.
In short, benefits of AI are huge. They help my business work better and make customers happier. Using AI helps me reach my goals and grow in a tough market.
If you’re also running a small business and juggling many tasks at once. Thankfully, AI tools can handle some of the heavy lifting for you.
In this article, we’ll look at the top 12 best AI tools—both free and paid—that can help small businesses succeed.
1. ChatGPT (Free & Paid Versions)
ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a conversational AI tool that can help with customer service, content creation, and more. Whether you need a quick answer to a customer’s question or help drafting emails, ChatGPT can do it all.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Time-Saving: ChatGPT can handle basic customer queries, freeing up your time to focus on other tasks.
- Content Creation: It can quickly generate blog posts, social media content, and marketing copy in just few seconds.
- Affordable: The free version of ChatGPT offers a lot of functionality, while the paid version (ChatGPT Plus) adds more advanced features for a reasonable monthly fee.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who need quick and accurate responses to customers, or want help generating content without hiring a writer.
Cost
The base plan is free. The monthly cost of ChatGPT’s paid subscription plan is $20.
2. HubSpot (Free & Paid Versions)
HubSpot is a comprehensive platform designed to handle customer support, sales, and marketing all at one place. It offers a suite of AI tools to automate tasks like email marketing, lead generation, and customer outreach.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Lead Generation: HubSpot’s AI tools can help you capture leads and nurture them until they convert.
- CRM Integration: Keep track of all your customer interactions in one place, streamlining your sales and support processes.
- Customizable: The free version is great for small businesses, while paid versions offer more features like advanced reporting and automation.
Ideal For:
Businesses looking for an all-in-one solution to handle marketing and customer relationships without investing too much in multiple tools.
Cost
It comes with four plans. The free plan offers basic CRM features. The cost of HubSpot starter plan costs $20 per month, professional plan costs $890 per month and enterprise plan costs $3600 per month.
3. Canva (Free & Paid Versions)
Canva is a popular design tool that uses AI to make graphic design accessible to everyone. It provides templates for social media posts, logos, brochures, and more.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- User-Friendly: Even if you have no design experience, Canva’s drag-and-drop features make it easy to create professional-looking designs.
- Collaborative: Share your designs with team members for easy feedback and edits.
- Affordable: While the paid version provides more templates and extra tools, the free version is jam-packed with features.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who want to create high-quality marketing materials without hiring a graphic designer.
Costs
The basic plan is free. However, the paid plan for Canva is priced at $12.99/month or $119.99/year .
4. Zoho CRM (Free & Paid Versions)
Zoho CRM is a customer relationship management solution that employs artificial intelligence (AI) to assist organizations manage their sales pipelines and customer interactions.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Lead Scoring: Zoho’s AI system helps identify high-potential leads, so you know where to focus your sales efforts.
- Automation: Set up workflows like follow-up emails, reminders, and data entry to save time.
- Customizable: Zoho’s platform is highly customizable to fit your business’s unique needs.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who want to improve their sales process and build stronger customer relationships.
Costs
Zoho CRM’s free version allows up to three users. The standard plan costs $14/user/month, the professional plan is $23/user/month, the enterprise plan is $40/user/month and the ultimate plan is $52/user/month.
5. Mailchimp (Free & Paid Versions)
Mailchimp is an email marketing tool that uses AI to assist small businesses in creating, sending, and tracking their email campaigns.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- AI-Powered Personalization: Mailchimp’s AI features help you personalize your email content for different segments of your audience.
- Automation: Set up your email marketing campaigns to run automatically, saving time and boosting efficiency.
- Analytics: Track click-through rates, open rates, and other data to determine and analyze the performance of your emails.
Ideal For:
Small businesses that want to reach out to customers via email without having to manually send every message.
Costs
The free Mailchimp plan is ideal for individuals and small organizations, as it allows up to 1,000 emails and 500 contacts each month. Their essentials plan costs $13 per month, standard plan costs $20 per month and premium plan costs $350 per month.
6. Grammarly (Free & Paid Versions)
Another in our list of AI tool is Grammarly. Grammarly is an AI-driven writing tool that assists you in generating error-free, readable content. It checks for punctuation, grammar, spelling, and even tone.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Error-Free Writing: Ensure that all your emails, blog posts, and marketing materials are free from errors.
- Tone Detection: Grammarly’s AI can help you ensure that your writing sounds friendly and professional.
- Affordable: The free version offers basic grammar and spell-check features, while the premium version adds advanced suggestions.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who want to ensure their written communication is polished and professional.
Costs
The basic plan of Grammarly is free. However, their business plan costs $30 per month or $12 per member per month if you billed annually.
7. QuickBooks (Paid)
QuickBooks is an AI-powered accounting tool designed to simplify bookkeeping and financial management for small businesses.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Expense Tracking: Organize your expenses quickly and monitor your financial flow.
- Automatic Invoices: Create and send invoices automatically to clients based on your preferences.
- Tax Filing: QuickBooks’ AI helps prepare your taxes by organizing your finances and offering tax-saving tips.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who need help managing their finances and keeping their books organized.
Costs
The QuickBooks don’t have any free plans. They have four different plan depending on the need of the business. The simple start plan is $35/month, the essentials plan is $65/month, the plus plan is $99/month, and the advanced plan is $235.
However, at the time of writing this article, they are offering 50% on all four plans. You can check out the pricing plan by visiting the website.
8. Zendesk (Paid)
What It Does:
Zendesk is a customer service platform that uses AI to automate support tickets, chatbots, and knowledge base articles, helping businesses improve their customer service experience.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- AI-Powered Help Desk: Automatically classify and prioritize support tickets based on urgency and customer needs.
- Chatbots: Offer instant responses to customer inquiries through AI-driven chatbots, reducing response time and enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Omnichannel Support: Manage customer support requests from various channels, including email, chat, and social media, all in one place.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who want to improve their customer service with automated solutions while providing timely support.
Costs
Zendesk don’t have any free plan. They have a paid plain in two categories:
- Zendesk Sell Plans: In this category they provide three plans. The monthly fees of the Sell Team Plan is $19, the Sell Growth Plan is $55, and the Sell Professional Plan is $115.
- Zendesk Suite Plan: In this pricing category, they provide four plans. The suite team plan costs $55/user/month when billed annually, suite growth costs $89/user/month when billed annually, suite professional costs $115/user/month when billed annually. And the suite enterprise plan which will be available on request.
9. Trello (Free & Paid Versions)
Trello is a task and project management tool that uses AI to help teams stay organized and on track.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Collaboration: Trello allows you to collaborate with your team, assign tasks, and track progress in real time.
- Customizable Boards: Create custom boards for different projects or departments to stay organized.
- Integration: Keeps everything in one location by integrating with other AI tools like Google Drive and Slack.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who want to keep track of tasks and projects while collaborating with their team.
Costs
The Trello comes with a basic plan which is free. Their standard plan costs $6/month or $5/user/month if billed annually, the premium plan costs $12.50/month or $10/user/month if billed annually and their enterprise plan costs $210 per user per year or $17.50/user/month when billed annually.
10. Asana (Free & Paid Versions)
Asana is another project management tool just like Trello that uses AI to help teams stay organized, set deadlines, and track progress on various tasks and projects.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Task Automation: Automate task assignments and set recurring tasks, saving time on repetitive work.
- Visual Task Boards: Organize your tasks visually, making it easy to see what’s due and what’s completed.
- Collaboration: Assign tasks, share projects with team members, and monitor real-time progress.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who need an organized system to manage tasks, deadlines, and team collaboration.
Costs
Asana has a basic plan which is free and offers upto 10 users with limited features. At the time of writing this post, their starter plan costs $6.92/user/month when billed annually or $8.50/per month. The advanced plan costs $19.21 per month or $15.74 per user per month when invoiced annually. They also have an enterprise plan which will be available on request.
11. Lumen5 (Free & Paid Versions)
Lumen5, an AI-powered video creation tool that converts text into highly compelling videos. You can use it to create marketing videos, social media content, and more.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Easy-to-Use Interface: Even without video editing experience, you can create professional-looking videos in minutes.
- Text-to-Video: Simply input text or blog posts, and Lumen5 automatically creates video content with visuals, animations, and music.
- Cost-Effective: The free version is good for small projects, while the paid version adds advanced features like higher video resolution and premium templates.
Ideal For:
Small business owners that want to produce video content without having to pay for costly video production services.
Costs
Lumen5 also comes with a free plan which offers 5 video creation of 2 minutes long only every month. Its basic plan costs $29/month, starter plan costs $79/month and professional plan costs $199/month.
12. Xero (Paid)
Xero is an AI-powered accounting software designed to simplify bookkeeping for small businesses. It automates tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and payroll management.
Why It’s Great for Small Business Owners:
- Financial Tracking: Keep track of all your financial transactions, invoices, and expenses in one platform.
- Automation: Automate bank reconciliations, invoicing, and payroll, reducing manual work and the risk of errors.
- Real-Time Reporting: Get real-time insights into your business’s financial health, helping you make informed decisions.
Ideal For:
Small business owners who want to keep their finances organized without hiring a full-time accountant.
Costs
Xero also don’t offer a free plan. They have 3 different plans. Their early plan costs $15/month, growing plan costs $47/month, and the established plan costs $80/month.
However, at the time of writing this article they are offering 95% off on their plans.
Conclusion
Artificial Intelligence has become an essential tool for small businesses. From content creation to customer service, marketing, and financial management, there’s an AI tool for nearly every business need. By incorporating these AI tools into your workflow, you can increase efficiency, save time, and make smarter decisions that drive success.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your customer service with ChatGPT, automate your email marketing with Mailchimp, or increase sales through marketing videos with Lumen5, these AI tools can help you streamline your business processes and focus on what matters most—growing your business.
Using AI now will help small businesses succeed in the future. It’s important for small businesses owner to keep up with technology. This way, they can stay ahead.
Also Read: 10 Easiest Ways for Smart Passive Income (No-Skills Needed)
