6 Ways Small Businesses Are Using AI to Grow and Become More Profitable

For many businesses, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced both new challenges and new opportunities to rethink their operations. While some have been slower to adopt the technology, 38% of businesses are already using AI to improve their processes and drive meaningful results.

Below are six real-world examples of how small businesses are utilizing AI to increase profitability and scale their operations.

Overcome staffing challenges with voice-based AI systems

For phone-dependent businesses like restaurants, high spikes in call volume can lead to staff overwhelm. However, with a hybrid system that combines real staff and voice-based AI, restaurants can increase their capacity without adding strain to their teams.

“[Our] voice-based AI system takes the initial customer information and the food order and then passes that information back to a human receptionist who double-checks the order with the caller to make sure it is correct,” said Lou Haverty, Owner of Faster Answering. “The use of AI voice agents is very helpful, because staffing the right number of human agents is very challenging for businesses that have high spikes in voice calls during certain times of the day, like food and restaurant businesses.”

[Read more: How to Fill Gaps on Your Team When College-Aged Employees Go Back to School]

Automate research to guide clients in risky markets

AI can help small businesses improve their intelligence-gathering processes, especially in emerging markets where risk and uncertainty are higher. By automating the collection and analysis of information, companies can gain more accurate and timely insights, thereby reducing their reliance on manual research and analysis.

“Leveraging a customized stack that [uses] OpenAI’s API [platform] and several other services, we ingest open-source and proprietary data to generate real-time risk assessments, geopolitical forecasts, and communication strategies — saving weeks of human labor and significantly improving the precision and impact of our advisory work,” said Davis Richardson, Managing Partner at Paradox Public Relations.

Identify opportunities for microtransformations

Asia Solnyshkina, Founder and CEO of ProSense.Digital, encourages her team to adopt AI gradually through small, ongoing improvements — or microtransformations. Her company uses AI to “do less, smarter,” thereby enabling its teams to scale to an enterprise level without feeling overworked.

“Every week, each team member identifies one task they can automate or streamline with AI,” Solnyshkina said. “It’s a series of microtransformations — small wins that build toward long-term change without a massive restructuring.”

Solnyshkina added that AI also acts as an “organizational memory” for the team, transcribing meetings and generating documentation, road maps, and workflows automatically.

[Read more: How to Encourage Your Employees to Use AI at Work]

Identify opportunities for microtransformations

Asia Solnyshkina, Founder and CEO of ProSense.Digital, encourages her team to adopt AI gradually through small, ongoing improvements — or microtransformations. Her company uses AI to “do less, smarter,” thereby enabling its teams to scale to an enterprise level without feeling overworked.

“Every week, each team member identifies one task they can automate or streamline with AI,” Solnyshkina said. “It’s a series of microtransformations — small wins that build toward long-term change without a massive restructuring.”

Solnyshkina added that AI also acts as an “organizational memory” for the team, transcribing meetings and generating documentation, road maps, and workflows automatically.

[Read more: How to Encourage Your Employees to Use AI at Work]

Automate PR strategies to drive client growth

With a systematic, AI-driven approach, Zen Media has achieved greater consistency and scalability in its creative services. According to Sarah Evans, Partner and Head of Public Relations, the company’s PR-as-a-System model leverages AI to help the team deliver faster, more predictable results that support long-term client success.

“Instead of relying on one-off wins, we use AI to support consistent, compound visibility, whether through smarter media planning, more agile narrative development, or faster turnarounds,” Evans said. “This helps us stay proactive, not reactive, and directly contributes to client growth and retention.”

Protect users against misinformation

With the surge of AI adoption making waves across industries, new risks and vulnerabilities have emerged, particularly around misinformation, deepfakes, and data security. In response, businesses are developing solutions to address the security challenges and close the gaps AI has exposed.

“We're in a unique position where we're using AI to fight AI,” said Ben Colman, Co-Founder and CEO of Reality Defender. “Our detection models have to constantly evolve to stay ahead of the generative AI tools that bad actors are using to create increasingly imperceptible deepfakes. Thus, how we use AI in detection is directly tied to our growth.”

[Read more: The Future of Project Management Software for Small Business]

Speed up estimations to win more construction bids

In the construction industry, AI has proven to be a valuable assistant that can free up estimators' time, transforming preconstruction planning from a manual task into a quick, automated process.

“Tools like Togal.AI — which we’ve implemented across several divisions — are allowing our teams to perform construction estimates with AI in minutes instead of days,” said Patrick E. Murphy, Chief Investment Officer at Coastal Construction. “That not only reduces overhead costs, but it also gives us a competitive edge by getting more accurate bids out the door faster. In construction, time is money, and AI is helping us win more projects.”

CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.