The questions every small business owner asks about AI, answered straight.
Twenty plain-English answers from someone who builds with AI every day. No hype, no jargon, and honest about what AI can't do.
Search for your question or browse the five categories below.
Get all 20 answers as one PDF: The Small Business AI Playbook
Every answer in this library, in one printable guide you can read on a plane, mark up with a pen, or hand to your business partner. Five sections: getting started, choosing the right help, what AI can do for you, safety, risk and people, and results.
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Getting started
What is an AI agent, and how is it different from ChatGPT?
An AI agent is AI that takes actions, not just answers. ChatGPT in a chat window responds to what you type and waits. An agent gets a goal and access...
8 min readWhat can AI actually automate in a small business?
AI can automate most of the repetitive computer work in a small business: sorting and answering routine email, following up on leads, pulling data...
8 min readHow much does AI automation cost for a small business?
AI automation for a small business can cost anywhere from under $100 a month in tools (doing it yourself) to several thousand dollars a month (an...
8 min readWhere should a small business start with AI?
Start with one task, not one tool. List the repetitive computer work your team does each week, pick the single task that eats the most hours, tidy up...
8 min readWhat's the difference between AI, automation and tools like Zapier?
Automation follows rules you set: when a form comes in, add a row to the spreadsheet. Tools like Zapier, Make and n8n are platforms for building...
7 min readChoosing the right help
Should I hire an AI person, use an agency, or do it myself?
For most businesses with 2 to 50 people, a fractional AI manager or a good consultant is the best fit: experienced help without a full salary. Do it...
8 min readChatGPT vs. Claude vs. Gemini: which should my business use?
Any of the three will handle everyday work for most small businesses. Pick the one that fits the tools you already use, buy its business plan so your...
7 min readWhat should I ask before hiring an AI consultant?
Ask to see something they built that is running right now, whose accounts the work will live in, who checks the AI's output before you see it, what...
7 min readWhat AI can do for you
Can AI answer my business phone?
Yes. An AI voice agent can answer your business line, hold a natural conversation, answer common questions, take down caller details, book...
8 min readHow can AI help my business follow up with leads?
AI can reply to every new lead within a minute or two, in your voice, then keep following up by email or text until the person answers or opts out....
8 min readCan AI handle my invoicing and bookkeeping?
AI can handle most of the busywork around invoicing and bookkeeping: building invoices from finished jobs, sending payment reminders, reading...
7 min readCan AI write my marketing without sounding like a robot?
Yes, AI can write marketing that sounds like you, if you give it three things: a written voice guide, real material from your business (stories,...
8 min readHow do I use AI to write SOPs and train employees?
Record the person who does the job explaining it, have AI turn that recording into a draft SOP, then have the same person check it before anyone else...
8 min readCan AI build reports and dashboards from my business data?
Yes. AI can pull numbers from your ad accounts, website analytics, CRM, accounting software and phone system, then write a plain-English summary of...
7 min readSafety, risk and people
Is it safe to give AI access to my business data?
It can be, if it's set up right. Use business-grade AI plans with data controls, give each tool only the access it needs, use separate logins instead...
8 min readWhat happens when AI makes a mistake?
When AI makes a mistake, the damage depends on one thing: whether a person catches it before your customer does. AI will sometimes get facts, dates...
8 min readWill AI replace my employees?
In most small businesses, AI replaces tasks, not people. The office manager stops retyping data, the salesperson stops formatting proposals, and the...
8 min readWhat should a small business AI policy include?
A small business AI policy should fit on one or two pages and cover seven things: which AI tools and accounts are approved, what data can and can't...
8 min readResults
How do I measure the ROI of AI automation?
Measure the ROI of AI automation by recording a baseline before you start, then counting hours saved times the loaded cost of whoever did the work,...
8 min readHow long does it take to see results from AI automation?
Most small businesses see a first small win from AI automation within the first week or two, steady recurring automations within about a month, and...
7 min readNo match. Call my AI agent and ask it: (314) 970-4001.
Not sure where to start?
Pick the line that sounds most like you.
"I keep hearing about AI agents and I'm not sure what they are."
Start with What is an AI agent, and how is it different from ChatGPT?, then What can AI actually automate in a small business?
Where should a small business start with AI? →"I'm ready, I just don't know who should do it."
Read Should I hire an AI person, use an agency, or do it myself? and How much does AI automation cost for a small business?
What should I ask before hiring an AI consultant? →"I'm interested, but I'm worried about the risks."
Read Is it safe to give AI access to my business data? and What happens when AI makes a mistake?
Will AI replace my employees? →How these answers are written
I'm Alex Lamy, a fractional AI manager in St. Louis County. I've built with AI every day since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, and I run a team of AI agents for small businesses. Every answer here is written for a busy owner who is smart but not technical.
A few rules every page follows. Each one opens with a short, direct answer. Each one has a section called "The honest part" about limits, risks and when something isn't worth it. There are no invented statistics: any number is either simple math shown on the page or linked to its source. Examples are clearly labeled as examples, and no client is named.
Each page shows the date it was last updated, because AI tools and prices change fast. If you want to know more about how I work, see what a fractional AI manager does or my glossary of AI terms.
Didn't see your question?
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