Artificial intelligence and AI tools can streamline and automate tasks, optimize workflows, and create personalized customer experiences. AI software for business can also help improve customer engagement and analyze customer behavior.
Fortunately, these capabilities show immediate results in any business. This means business owners, managers, and employees will benefit from a less stressful environment.
For example, Podium’s AI-powered lead conversion platform offers web chat, text marketing, online phone calls, and storage solutions. These features make it a breeze for companies to improve their online presence and stay in touch with their customers. Moreover, they can integrate their existing tools with the platform for an even broader AI solution.
Aside from this, Podium now offers a new AI Employee feature to streamline your company’s online communications. Podium’s conversational AI is outcome-driven – it doesn’t just respond to inbound leads it guides conversations toward a specific goal, such as a sale or booking. Unlike other AI systems that focus on providing correct responses, Podium aims to drive specific customer actions to grow your business.
What to Look For In an AI Tool for Business
Now that your interest is piqued, you’re likely wondering what type of AI assistant would work best for your business. Choosing the right AI tools for your business relies on thorough research and a process of elimination. This means you must decide on your goals and use an AI tool that can help you achieve them. Consider the following factors when choosing AI software for your business:
1. Scalability
Rigid, inflexible AI tools make it nearly impossible to grow your business. It would be best if you searched for AI software that expands as your brand does. This means your AI solution should handle unexpected increases in workloads easily while functioning at the same level. It should also allow you to add or remove users without difficulty, and at a reasonable cost.
Therefore, your chosen AI tools for business should remain manageable even with an increasing number of users. They must retain their speed and usability even as you activate more features. The AI tool you choose must also be able to handle increasing amounts of customer data as your customer base grows.
2. Integrations
The best AI tools for business operations include the option to integrate with various other software tools. The last thing you want to do is invest in AI tools you can’t use in conjunction with other systems you’ve come to rely on. You must be able to integrate your communication systems, CRM, and other admin management systems or databases with your AI software.
Many AI-powered tools also come with API integration capabilities to facilitate more efficient data exchange and enhance productivity.
3. Data Security and Privacy
Any AI software you use in your business must adhere to the required data security features and privacy regulations. This is integral for protecting your customers’ sensitive information and keeping confidential business data out of the wrong hands. Using data-compliant software will also help you avoid incurring hefty penalties and fines.
4. Learning Curve
Furthermore, the best AI tools for small business processes are easy to understand and use. If you decide on AI software for your business, it must have an intuitive and user-friendly interface. This will ensure that your team adapts quickly to the new system and gets the most use out of it without extensive (and expensive) training.
Additionally, the system must cater to all your business needs, including data analysis, customer support, and sales optimization.
5. Support
An AI assistant typically provides support to customers looking for various solutions. In your business case, your AI assistant should include a reliable support system that allows your marketing and sales teams to troubleshoot effectively and with minimum downtime.
What’s great is that many AI-powered tools come with comprehensive user manuals or documentation that you can count on. Self-service support options like tutorials and knowledge bases can also help your teams quickly resolve issues with the tool.
6. Pricing
Lastly, assess the overall cost of implementing and maintaining AI tools. Consider the calculated return on investment (ROI) and decide whether the benefits of your AI system justify the expenses. If you’ve chosen a system that includes all of the above features, chances are you’ll experience a positive ROI.
The 10 Best AI Tools for Small Businesses
The best AI tools for small business operations include NLP (natural language processing) tools, RPA (robotic process automation), chatbots, predictive analytics, and machine learning platforms. When choosing an AI tool for your small business, consider which features would benefit you the most. Some of the best options when it comes to AI software for business include the following:
Podium’s AI-powered lead generation and conversion platform helps businesses manage day-to-day operations effectively, drive growth, and win against the competition. The platform offers a variety of AI solutions across Webchat, text, phone, and more.
Moreover, with Podium, you can use one of several text message templates to send an instant marketing campaign directly to your target market. Podium’s best features also include an AI response generator that can help you respond quickly to reviews and messages, which helps reduce customer churn. The software also offers the option to send out customer surveys.
Also, Podium’s AI Employee guarantees your business engages with leads within a couple of minutes; during peak hours, off hours, and every hour in between. Transform your business with Podium’s AI Employee. Get a Demo Today!
2. ChatGPT
Launched by OpenAI, ChatGPT offers several advantages as one of the best AI tools for business. This generative AI technology can help you enhance your customer support, streamline your business operations, and provide you with data insights. ChatGPT can also help you design and create personalized customer experiences. It does this by providing quick and accurate responses to queries and tailoring responses to individual preferences.
ChatGPT, also controversial to some, is great for automating repetitive tasks, which frees employees to focus on complex projects. The platform can help create content for business websites and social media and is adaptable across various business sectors.
As of this writing, there are some concerns with ChatGPT, as seen most clearly in the recent strikes that rocked the US. It is thought that the system will lead to large-scale job losses, especially for employees in charge of repetitive processes.
On a smaller scale, some businesses are concerned that the data quality of ChatGPT’s output is not as high as it should be. GPT-3 is limited in its knowledge up to September 2021. However, there is a workaround for businesses. There should be processes in place to validate the information provided by ChatGPT to avoid errors.
3. Google Bard
Bard is Google’s answer to ChatGPT. One of the most popular AI-powered tools today, Bard is a powerful chatbot designed to simulate human conversations using NLP and machine learning algorithms. Bard can help empower your business by streamlining your content creation process.
Bard can help you create anything from business blogs to social media images. It is easy to use, accessible to anyone, and can answer queries and generate content on demand. Because Bard is grounded in Google’s quality information foundation, its language model doubles as a predictive engine. This allows it to provide relevant and appropriate responses.
As for cons, Bard is still in its experimental phase, so if you’re already using it, you may experience occasional inconsistencies. There are also instances of a lack of creativity when compared with the responses provided by ChatGPT. It is worth noting, however, that AI chatbots won’t replace human creativity but enhance it by inspiring writers. If used in that context, Bard becomes an invaluable AI assistant.
4. Crayon AI
Crayon AI is a competitive intelligence platform that uses AI to help businesses gain insights into various markets. It zones in on areas like intelligent document analysis, algorithms, and market intelligence and works to optimize small business operations. This platform also assists business owners in data-driven decision-making to grow their brands.
Crayon AI is one of the most valuable AI tools for business because it monitors competitors in real-time. This means you’ll always have up-to-date information to stay ahead in your market. The platform offers end-to-end AI solutions to address specific business challenges and employs powerful algorithms to maximize business processes.
The only problem with this is that if you over-rely on Crayon AI, you may experience challenges if technical issues disrupt the platform. Also, the use of AI for competitive intelligence is not widely accepted. If you decide to use this technology, you must ensure that your business complies with data protection regulations.
5. Otter.ai
Good AI tools also include transcription software. Otter.ai is an AI-driven automatic transcription service that records and transcribes voice conversations. This software offers several great features for businesses, including real-time transcription and automation. This web-based service uses AI to take notes during meetings and can even participate in them.
The goal of Otter.ai is to capture spoken words efficiently, which makes it an unmissable tool for any business that wants to communicate and document important information regularly.
Otter.ai has a user-friendly interface, making the learning process quick and challenge-free. It instantly converts spoken words into accurate text during business meetings or team conversations. Furthermore, Otter.ai Chat is a real-time AI assistant that participates in meetings by answering questions.
The software is available as a free version and comes in Pro and Business plans. However, it is essential to note that the set-up fee is not a visible part of these prices, so you must factor it into the overall spend.
6. DALL·E 2
DALL·E 2 is an advanced AI system that follows and builds on the capabilities of its predecessor, DALL·E. This AI tool will allow you to enter a written prompt and generate a relevant image. This means you can create visuals to use in your SEO efforts and marketing campaigns simply by prompting the software to do it. You can also create show-stopping website images to increase your organic traffic.
The 2.0 version of DALL·E creates higher-resolution images and understands textual prompts better. It can also help you generate synthetic data, which is particularly beneficial for areas such as gesture recognition.
However, the software is not infallible, so there may be text understanding issues or difficulties translating prompts to exact images. The new model often struggles to produce AI-generated images related to subjects such as human faces or science.
7. Bricabrac AI
Bricabrac is one of the most popular AI tools for business. It is designed to streamline the process of creating web applications. As a business owner, it will allow you to turn your ideas into functional applications, immediately optimizing your workflow.
Because Bricabrac works so quickly, it allows business owners and employees to see their brainstorming efforts come to fruition. And, because it streamlines workflows, it becomes easier for companies to implement the changes into their web applications efficiently. Furthermore, Bricabrac AI can also potentially contribute to a sales boost.
Bricabrac is not quite as user-friendly as other AI software for business. This means companies may take longer to familiarize themselves with the tool. It also relies heavily on AI algorithms, so if these don’t work properly, it may impact the tool’s performance and functionality.
8. Grammarly
Grammarly is one of the most popular AI writing and editing tools today, with various features for small businesses. This AI assistant helps businesses enhance the quality of their written content by checking for grammar, spelling, punctuation, style errors, and plagiarism. It comes in free and premium versions, with additional features in the premium plans. This AI platform is also available as an extension for Google Docs.
As a grammar checker and writing assistant, Grammarly has advanced proofreading capabilities that can help you improve your business documents, internal communication, copy for website and landing pages, and social media posts. This will allow you to present professional writing on all platforms. The business version also allows users to add industry-specific terms to a custom dictionary. This furthers accurate proofreading.
One of the tool’s advantages is that Grammarly supports remote teams. Using Grammarly will help your business maintain a consistent writing style if you have writers working in different countries.
However, the complexity and context of certain words and phrases may slip underneath Grammarly’s radar. It may also be necessary to update the custom directory continuously. And while Grammarly supports various languages and styles, it may be stumped by language complexities or slang.
9. Jasper.ai
Jasper.ai is another advanced AI writing tool designed to help marketing teams and content creators produce high-quality content. It uses machine learning and language processing technology to generate flawless marketing copy, including blog posts, product descriptions, ad copy, company bios, and social media content. Jasper.ai positions itself as a must-have AI assistant to deliver the best outcomes for content marketing teams in small businesses.
The platform is well-known for generating content fast. It even claims to curate content at least five times faster than the average human copywriter, which can save businesses a lot of time. It offers more than 50 content templates and unlimited AI image generation, which means you can use it for a range of content creation needs. Jasper.ai is also a highly flexible AI tool, making it adaptable for content creation in different fields.
That said, Jasper.ai cannot imitate the nuances of human copy or content writing. This means there may be an over-expectation, which may cause some business owners to feel that the software under delivers.
10. Eightify
Rounding out the list of best AI tools for small businesses is Eightify. This software specializes in summarizing YouTube videos using ChatGPT technology. It aims to save time by providing concise and useful summaries of long videos. It also extracts the main ideas and most important information instantly.
Eightify is also available as a Chrome extension and allows users to access three free summaries a week, for videos no longer than 30 minutes. In addition to persona video consumption applications, Eightify offers business services, in particular, online and entrepreneurship enterprises.
Eightify is exceptionally cost-effective and also offers an alternative to businesses in the social media marketing industry. With a paid plan, your business can use Eightify to summarize an unlimited number of videos of any length. This provides great flexibility if your brand has diverse content needs.
It is essential to note, however, that Eightify currently works primarily with YouTube videos. If you have video content on other platforms, you may find this AI tool’s scope limited.
AI Tools for Business FAQS
Q: What are the best free AI tools?
A: Some of the best free AI tools for business include ChatGPT 3.5, HIX.AI, Jasper.ai, and Midjourney. It is crucial to use AI tools that offer a range of applications like image enhancers, video editing tools, and content ideas. For lead conversion, Podium’s AI-powered Lead Drive features are excellent.
Q: Where can I find the best AI tools?
A: Depending on the application, the best AI tools exist on platforms like Podium, ChatGPT, Jasper, Grammarly, and Zapier.
Q: Can AI help me get more customers?
A: Yes, AI can significantly contribute to business growth. For example, Podium offers advanced lead conversion technology that improves a company’s online presence, turns website traffic into sales, and grows profits with instant text campaigns.
Q: How to use AI to convert leads into customers?
A: Invest in an AI assistant or AI software for business. Podium excels in this area by offering AI features like chatbots, conversational AI, lead scoring, behavioral analysis, and more to help business owners convert valuable leads. Podium’s AI offerings include social media listening, automatic review invites, content generation, and predictive analytics.
Don’t let your competition beat you to new leads. Try Podium’s AI Employee today.
