Most Small Businesses Are Using AI Wrong - Here’s How to Fix It
Most Small Businesses Are Using AI Wrong
with Philip VanDusen
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Philip VanDusen:
Hey everybody. Welcome back. Most small businesses are using AI wrong, and by the end, you won't be one of them because if you're not using AI like this yet, you're leaving money on the table. If you're a small business owner right now, it probably feels like you're being squeezed from every direction.
Marketing costs are up, attention spans are down. Customers expect faster responses, more personalization and better experiences, even though most small businesses are running leaner teams than ever, and that's the bad news. The good news is that artificial intelligence has quietly become one of the biggest leverage points that small businesses have ever had to succeed.
And I don't mean someday in the future. I mean, right now. What used to require large teams and deep pockets and enterprise software is now accessible to solo founders, small teams, and local businesses willing to rethink how they work. So I wanna walk you through seven updated practical ways small businesses can use AI today to work smarter, to reduce friction and grow without burning out.
And this isn't about hype, it's about what actually works.
Number one is using AI as a thinking partner, not just a content generator.
A lot of small businesses are still using ai, like it's a faster intern. They ask it to write blog posts or a caption or an email. They copy and paste the result, and then they move on.
And while that can save time, it completely misses where AI has become incredibly powerful. The biggest update over the last year is how good AI has gotten at reasoning. Context and synthesis tools like Chad, GPT, and Claude and Perplexity are no longer just text generators. When you give them real inputs about your business, your customers, your constraints, they can help you think more clearly.
You can use them to stress test ideas before you invest money. You can workshop. Positioning or you can refine orders or explore pricing scenarios or clarify messaging that feels fuzzy in your own head. Perplexity, for example, is especially useful when you want research backed answers because it pulls from live sources and it shows you where the information comes from.
Clawed on the other hand, can really excel at long form thinking and tone sensitive writing, and then there's chat GPT. Of course, that's still the most flexible all around option. It's great with strategy and ideation and problem solving. The key shift is this. You don't ask AI to replace your thinking.
You ask it to improve it, and that's where small businesses start to gain real leverage.
Number two is turning one video into a full content engine. Video is now one of the most powerful ways to market a small business, but it's also where most people give up, or most commonly don't even get started now.
Recording is one thing. But editing and captioning, and clipping and repurposing is where the wheels usually come off for small business. And this is where AI has completely changed the game. Now, tools like the script allow you to edit video by editing text, almost like editing text on a Google Doc. You can use ai.
Within the script to remove filler words and to tighten pacing and to clean up audio. And you can do this without learning how to use complex audio or video editing Software platforms like Opus Clip and Riverside can automatically scan long videos and identify moments that are really likely to perform as really well as short form clips.
They generate vertical videos and captions. And format them for platforms like Instagram and TikTok and YouTube shorts and LinkedIn. There are also tools like captions, ai, and similar tools focus specifically on creating readable attention, grabbing subtitles, which matters more than ever because most video these days on mobile especially is Watch Without Sound.
What this means in practical terms is that. One good recording session can now fuel literally weeks of content show up once you record, and AI handles the tedious parts for small businesses. This removes one of the biggest barriers to consistently posting content.
Number three is smarter CRM and follow up.
That doesn't require your memory. This is where a lot of small businesses quietly lose revenue. Leads come in, but follow up are inconsistent. Conversations stall, emails get sent, emails get forgotten. Text messages never happen, and no one really knows what prospects are hot and what ones are just browsing or what ones have gone cold.
Now modern CRM platforms powered by AI are designed to exactly solve this problem. They track behavior across email and SMS and websites and funnels, and they automate follow ups based on the actions that those people are actually taking and they surface opportunities. That would otherwise be missed.
Now, this is where AI tools like high level, continue to stand out. In full disclosure, I am an affiliate of high level. They're not sponsoring this video, but they're an amazing tool. High level combines, CRM, email marketing, SMS, landing pages, pipelines and automation. All into one system, all under one roof.
So all of those tools aren't some giant tech stack that's really hard to manage. It's all within one system. With AI layered onto all those workflows, it allows small teams to create personalized follow-up sequences that feel human without being manual. Now instead of relying on memory or sticky notes, the system does the remembering for you.
And if someone clicks a link or they book a call or they go quiet, the software is gonna respond appropriately and used well. This kind of infrastructure doesn't just save time, it directly increases conversions and follow through. And so if you wanna check out high level, my affiliate links in the description.
Number four is understanding your market without endless research.
One of the most underrated uses of AI is how quickly it can help you understand what is actually happening in your market. Instead of spending weeks digging through competitor websites and reviews and forms and search results, AI can synthesize all that information in minutes.
Now, tools like SEMrush, which are truly amazing, to be honest. Use machine learning to analyze search behavior, keyword intent, and competitor visibility, and it shows you what people are actively looking for and which brands are winning that attention. It can also give you advanced notice on trending markets, so you can act before instead of after the fact on that sort of insight.
The tool, spark Toro focuses more on audience intelligence and it helps you understand what your audience reads, listens to, follows, talks about online, which is increasingly useful for content and positioning. Even general AI tools like Chat, GPT or Perplexity can be trained on reviews and testimonials and customer feedback.
To surface patterns in those things so you can act on 'em, so you can start to see repeated objections or common frustrations in the language that your customers are actually using. This turns market research from a one year project into an ongoing advantage.
Number five is winning locally without constant manual effort.
If you're a local or a regional business, visibility and local search can make or break your business. The challenge is that managing listings and reviews and local SEO is super time consuming and super easy to neglect. AI powered local search tools can now handle much of that behind the scenes. Moz Local, for example, syncs your business information across dozens of directories and monitors consistency and flags, issues that could hurt your visibility.
It also helps optimize your Google business profile, which is one of the most important assets for local. Discovery and some platforms can even assist with review responses by analyzing sentiment and suggesting appropriate replies, saving you time, and still keeping communication professional and on brand.
And the result of using AI like this is really clear. You can stay visible and credible and competitively local without spending hours each week managing listings.
Number six is customer support that responds instantly without feeling robotic.
People expect immediate responses these days, and it doesn't mean that you need to have your own call center.
Modern AI chat tools can answer common questions, qualified leads, book appointments, and route more complex inquiries to human. When that's actually needed. Now, the big difference today is quality chatbots used to really suck. Let's admit it. Many still do, but when the newer chatbots are trained on your real business information, FAQs and tone, they stop feeling generic and start feeling really helpful.
Actually, many of these systems integrate. Directly with CRMs, meaning that conversations don't disappear into the void and you can act on them, they become part of the customer record and they inform future follow-ups. And for small businesses, that means faster responses, better first impressions, and fewer lost opportunities, all without hiring more staff.
And so you gotta love that.
Number seven is improving conversions without guessing.
Most small businesses, websites don't have a traffic problem. They have a conversion problem. AI powered analytics tools now show you exactly how people behave on your website. Microsoft Clarity and Hotjar use session recordings and heat maps to reveal where your website visitors get stuck.
Where they lose interest, where they drop off. There's a tool called Insta Page that focuses on landing page optimization. Using AI to suggest layout and copy improvements based on the performance data. Instead of you just guessing why something isn't working, you get clear signals about what to do and what to fix.
Even small improvements here can have an outsized impact because you're getting more results from your traffic that you already have. Now, I want you to remember, AI isn't about. Replacing people. It's about removing friction for small businesses. That means fewer manual tasks, clearer decisions, faster responses, and better use of your limited resources.
Now, don't get overwhelmed. You don't need to use every tool that I talked about here today. You don't need to automate everyth. And you definitely don't need to chase down every new feature that gets announced. If you start applying AI thoughtfully as infrastructure and leverage rather than just shortcuts, the benefits to your business will really compound over time.
You work smarter. You stay human where it matters and you build systems that support growth instead of causing exhaustion. So that's thanks again and I'll see you in the next one.
