AI for small business. How to run your business with an AI team.

A practical guide to AI for small business: the eight jobs to hand over first, what an AI employee actually does in each, and what stays with you.

Get started Read the guide
  • 8 jobs, step by step
  • A four-week start plan
  • What stays with you
  • Free tools for each job
An HVAC technician kneeling by an outdoor unit
Emergency call answeredBreeze Works · 6:38 AM
Post scheduledFold & Butter · Sat 8:00
A salon owner checking her phone at the front desk
Booking emails answeredSecond Nature Salon
A contractor on a ladder fitting a ceiling light
Quote sent the same dayNorthfield Builders
A freshly striped lawn in front of a white house
5-star review answeredPatchwork Landscapes
Ad live at $20 a daySunday Reset Cleaning

AI for small business, in plain terms

Three kinds of AI. Only one does the work.

Most advice on AI for small business stops at writing emails faster. The hours come back when the work itself gets done, in the apps you already use.

ChatGPT and its cousins

Chatbots

Answer questions and write drafts. You still copy the result into your apps and do the job yourself.

A scheduler, a review app, an ad tool

Single-job tools

Each does one task. Ten logins, ten bills, and nothing passes work to anything else.

What SmallForce gives you

AI employees

Do the work inside your real apps, as one team that knows your business: the reply goes up, the invoice goes out.

Where AI helps, job by job

Eight jobs to hand to AI first.

Start with the work that repeats every week and costs you money when it slips. For each job: what it looks like today, what your AI employee does, and what stays with you.

Maya · your AI receptionist 01 / 08

Answer every call

TodayCalls come in while you're on a roof or under a sink. Most go to voicemail, and most callers don't leave one.

  • Answers on your business number, day and night
  • Knows your services, hours and prices
  • Takes the details and hands the job to your team with a transcript

Stays with you: Who to call back first, and what to quote.

See the AI receptionist Free: Missed-call revenue calculator

Emma · your AI inbox assistant 02 / 08

Clear the inbox

TodayEnquiries, supplier emails and “just checking in” pile up until Sunday night.

  • Sorts Gmail and drafts replies in your writing style
  • Sends from your own address, so customers reply to you
  • Books meetings into Google Calendar

Stays with you: Anything sensitive, and the emails only you should write.

See AI employees at work Free: Email signature generator

Nora · your AI estimator 03 / 08

Send quotes the same day

TodaySite notes sit in your truck. The quote goes out on Friday, after the customer has hired someone else.

  • Turns site notes and your rate sheet into a quote PDF
  • Emails it to the customer from your Gmail
  • Follows up if they go quiet

Stays with you: The price. You check the number before it goes out.

See AI employees at work Free: Profit margin calculator

Daniel · your AI bookkeeper 04 / 08

Chase what you're owed

TodayInvoices go out late, and nobody has time to chase the ones that are overdue.

  • Makes invoices from finished jobs
  • Sends polite reminders when they're overdue
  • Keeps a running list in Google Sheets

Stays with you: Payment plans, discounts and awkward conversations.

See AI employees at work Free: Free invoice generator

Lucas · your AI social media manager 05 / 08

Post on social, every week

TodayYou know you should post. The last one was in March.

  • Makes posts and short videos from your job photos
  • Schedules them on Instagram, Facebook and 7 more
  • Answers comments and DMs

Stays with you: Your brand, and which jobs you're proud enough to show.

See the AI social media manager Free: Instagram post preview

Sam · your AI review manager 06 / 08

Answer every review

TodayReviews go unanswered for weeks, and your Google profile still lists last year's hours.

  • Replies to Google and Facebook reviews in your voice
  • Asks happy customers for a review
  • Keeps your Google Business Profile current

Stays with you: How to handle an angry review.

See Google review replies Free: Free Google Business Profile audit

Priya · your AI ads manager 07 / 08

Run ads that stay on budget

TodayYou boosted a post once, spent $200 and never found out what it did.

  • Builds Meta, Google and TikTok campaigns
  • Keeps spend inside the cap you set
  • Reports leads and cost per lead every week

Stays with you: The budget, and which services to push.

See Ads Autopilot Free: Marketing ROI calculator

Theo · your AI web developer 08 / 08

Keep the website current

TodayThe site was built in 2019. Changing a price means emailing your nephew.

  • Builds and updates your site in plain English
  • Previews every change before it goes live
  • Adds pages for new services and towns

Stays with you: What the business says about itself.

See the AI website builder

How to start

Start in four weeks, one job at a time.

You don't hand over the whole business on day one. Start with one job, watch it for a week, then add the rest.

Start week 1

  1. 1Week 1

    Connect and teach

    Connect Gmail, Calendar, Instagram and your Google profile. Drop your price list, services and FAQs into the workspace.

  2. 2Week 2

    Hand over one job

    Pick calls or the inbox. Read every transcript and draft for a week, and correct anything that sounds off.

  3. 3Week 3

    Add the weekly jobs

    Posts, review replies and invoice reminders: the jobs that slip first when you're busy.

  4. 4Week 4

    Set limits and a rhythm

    Ad budgets, what each employee may do on its own, and a Friday message with the week's work.

Choosing AI for your business

What to look for in AI tools for small business.

Six questions to ask any AI tool before you trust it with your customers. Ask them of us too.

What to look for in AI tools for small business.
ChatbotsSingle-job toolsSmallForce AI employees
Works in your real apps – No: You copy and paste ~ Partly: One app each Yes: Gmail, Instagram, Google, ads, phone
Finishes the job – No: Writes drafts ~ Partly: One step of it Yes: Sends, posts, replies, books
Knows your business ~ Partly: Only what you paste in – No: Starts from zero Yes: Learns your prices, services and voice
Limits you set – No: Nothing to limit ~ Partly: Varies by tool Yes: Budgets, permissions and a Stop button
See everything it did – No: A chat history ~ Partly: Ten separate logs Yes: One activity log, refusals included
One team, one bill – No: Plus the other tools – No: Ten bills Yes: $149 a month for the team

What stays with you

You stay the owner. They do the work.

Every employee has limits you set, every action is logged, and you can stop any of them at any time.

Priya can

  • Send email from Gmail
  • Publish social posts
  • Launch ads up to $30 a day
  • Deploy the website

Activity log

  • Raise ad budget to $45 a day Refused · over cap
  • Published “Spring garden builds” 9:00 AM
  • Sent 9 replies from Gmail 10:20 AM
  • Deploy the website Refused · not allowed

At a showing, on a roof, on holiday: one tap stops any employee mid-task.

What it costs

The whole AI team for $149 a month.

That's about $5 a day for every job in this guide. One plan, no per-employee pricing, no setup fee or contract.

$149/ month

or $49 a week, cancel any time

  • Your own private HQ, online 24/7
  • Every AI employee in this guide
  • 4,000 SmallForce Credits and 2,000 AI Credits a month
  • Website hosting on SmallForce
Get started See pricing

All eight, included

FAQ

AI for small business, answered.

Still deciding? Ask Maya, our own AI receptionist, about your business.

Talk to Maya Book a demo

What is the best AI for a small business?

The one that does the work in the apps you already use. ChatGPT is great for writing and answers. For jobs like answering calls, replying to reviews and chasing invoices, you want AI that can act in your Gmail, your phone line and your Google profile, with limits you set. That's what SmallForce's AI employees do.

How can a small business use AI?

Start with jobs that repeat every week: answering calls, clearing the inbox, sending quotes, chasing invoices, posting on social, replying to reviews, running ads and keeping the website current.

Which jobs should I hand to AI first?

The ones that cost you money when they slip. For most owners that's missed calls, slow quotes and unanswered reviews. Hand over one, watch it for a week, then add the next.

How much does AI cost for a small business?

SmallForce is $149 a month for the whole team of AI employees, running on your own private HQ. The free tool linked under each job costs nothing.

Will AI replace my staff?

It takes the repetitive work off their plate, so your people spend their time with customers and on the job. Your team can work with the AI employees in the same chats.

Do I need to be technical?

No. You talk to your AI employees in plain English, in the dashboard or the iPhone app, and connect your apps by signing in.

Is my business data safe?

Each business gets its own private HQ, a computer that runs its AI employees and holds its files. Other businesses never share it.

What stays in my control?

Everything that matters. You choose what each employee is allowed to do, set budget caps, see every action in the activity log and stop any employee at any time.

Your first job

What should AI take off your plate first?

Pick one. Your AI employee starts on it today, and you add the rest as you go.

Get started Talk to Maya

Still deciding? Ask your own AI.

Pick a question and we'll open it in the assistant you already use. No sign-up, no form.

I run a small business. Would SmallForce (smallforcehq.com) be a good fit for me? What would it handle, and what does it cost?

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