5 Advantages of AI for Small Businesses (& a Few Drawbacks)

According to Elite Business, one in four businesses have already implemented some form of AI in order to support their operations. Of those who have already used AI, and continue to use it in their workplace, 87% reported time savings equating to around 540 hours a year, claims the same source. 

Therefore, it’s obvious that there are some quantifiable benefits to using AI within your business, but there are still some drawbacks, especially because this technology isn’t fully-developed yet. So how can you benefit from AI tools as a small business and what should you be wary of moving forward? 

What are the benefits of AI for small businesses?

According to SBE Council, 75% of small businesses, when asked, reported using an AI tool in some form or another. The same source also reported seeing an increase in AI programme use, with only 54% of small businesses reporting that they used AI tools the year before. But why is there a sudden boom in the use of AI software? 

With such a rise in popularity, it’s obvious that there are a few benefits to using AI to help your small business grow and develop, especially when your budgets and workforce are both smaller than a huge corporate giant. So what are the benefits of using AI tools as a small company? Let’s delve deeper into the advantages:

It increases productivity & efficiency

AI tools are designed to automate repetitive tasks, in their most simple form. It frees up time for employees to do other things that are more crucial to their role and carry out tasks that are value-added for the business. This is something that a small business would greatly benefit from, especially if your workforce is small, but the work is mounting up. It’s also important if your hours are somewhat limited, but a good chunk of work needs to be executed within that time frame. Consider AI programmes if you’re looking to improve efficiency and boost productivity throughout your workplace.

It can improve customer experience

ChatBots and other customer support tools are crucial when it comes to saving time and money. You will no longer need someone behind a telephone, or at least you could employ fewer people in the department of customer service. ChatBots are simple to implement and even easier for website visitors to use. The  users might also prefer this option to giving you a call or sending an email. It’s quicker and more effective for both parties.

It can save time & money

Using AI tools, especially when it comes to automated technology, does wonders in terms of saving you time and money. Not only are you not paying extra employees to do the job for you, but the same tasks can be carried out a lot more quickly. Why wouldn’t you want those laborious, mundane tasks to be done in a way that is both quicker and cheaper? If that’s what you’re looking for, then AI tools and programmes could be your answer.

It helps with scalability

If you’re looking to scale up your workforce, without employing people to do boring, mundane tasks, then AI tools are the way forward. They will save you enough time and money in the long run to free up some resources that will allow you to expand your company and your employee base. 

It has the ability to analyse vast amounts of data quickly 

If your business is data-driven, and if you’re using employee time to analyse the data properly, then look to AI instead of having those tasks done manually. This comes hand in hand with the above point – saving time and money. It will allow your workers to focus their time more on value-added tasks, and less time analysing data and information. You should look at AI as being something that can work with your existing employees and not as a way of replacing them.

What are some of the AI drawbacks?

Just as AI programmes and software can be used in a way that is advantageous to small businesses, the technology is nowhere near advanced enough to rely on it solely. As such, many small companies are looking to make sure it works alongside a human workforce. Someone needs to be there to input the information or take what the AI programme has done to turn it into something worthwhile. AI-generated results, in their raw form, aren’t always the best thing to use if you’re looking to build trust between yourself and your clients. 

This is further backed up by Marketing Charts, who claims that 40% of consumers, when asked, are more likely to say that the use of AI would make them distrusting of a brand, rather than trusting. So why should we be somewhat wary of AI, using it sparingly rather than counting on it entirely? Let’s take a closer look at some of the drawbacks that come with the use of AI programmes and software in further detail.

Output quality isn’t always the best

The results you get from AI tools aren’t always of the highest quality. This is most important when you’re writing articles for your blog. This is because only high-quality content with correct spelling and grammar, and with some strong and reliable external links also, will rank well in the search engine results pages (SERPs). 

If you’re writing content using AI writing tools, and submitting those to your blog without any editing, proofreading or re-jigging, you’re not likely to do very well in the SERPs. This means that less people will come across your content, reducing your website traffic also. In addition, really badly-written content can be pushed so far down in the SERPs, because of the Google algorithm, that it’s not likely to be seen by anyone at all. 

It’s in your best interests to take what the AI tool has written and flesh it out, add some personality to it and correct grammar and spelling (which can be American English rather than British English), among other things. This will boost the quality, but you’re still saving time in comparison to how long it would have taken for a professional writer to produce it from scratch.

It can be repetitive & inaccurate

This can be the case if you haven’t given your AI tool enough information, or if you have supplied it with information from an unreliable or out-of-date source. You need to be checking the output it gives you for repetition and make sure that you’re fact-checking what it’s generated also. It can be repetitive in more ways than one. From repeating the same fact or statistic to repeating the same words and phrases, if you edit the content, rectifying those repetitive instances, then you’re also helping to add a human voice, without getting too involved.

It’s impersonal with a robotic tone-of-voice

We’ve just explained a technique you can use to make the AI-generated content seem more human, but it can take time to add those human elements to it, especially if the AI output was poor quality and long form. While you can add a human element to it, it can take more time than you might realise, making it more time-effective, in the long run, to have simply written the content yourself from scratch. But again, that depends on the quality of the content it has generated.

It scares people in terms of job-stealing

According to The Hill, 36% of American workers, when asked, were concerned that AI tools and programmes would have the power to make their roles in the workplace redundant. Not only is AI reducing the trust that employees have in their workplaces, but it’s also forcing employers to think more carefully about how AI is used, so as to preserve the value in their workers. The last thing you want to do is make them feel invaluable or useless. 

This will decrease morale, meaning a reduction in productivity and happiness overall. Not only could this lead to them moving to another workplace, but it could also have a negative impact on their mental health. Think about how your employees will feel about the new implementation, perhaps asking them what their thoughts are on the topic before making AI prominent in your workplace operations.

AI programmes can be challenging for some to use

Not all AI programmes and tools are easy to use. In fact, the very idea that information needs to be inputted is far easier said than done, depending on the AI programme you’re using. Unless you’ve spent the time and money training your employees on how to use the tools effectively, for maximum benefit, then you might find that more time is wasted in trying to work out how the tool works in the first place. 

Kumo is pleased to provide customers throughout the UK with a wide range of digital marketing services, including SEO, PPC, content writing, website design and more. With over two decades of experience in the marketing industry, you’ll always be able to count on our specialist, dedicated team to propel you into the spotlight and set you apart from your competitors in the process. If you would like further information about our marketing services, get in touch with a member of our friendly, professional team today – we’re always pleased to hear from you.