How Small Businesses Can Use AI Today

You do not need a big budget or a tech team to use AI in your business. Here are practical, low-cost ways small businesses use it every day.

1. Reply to customers faster

Ask a chatbot to draft polite replies to common questions: prices, delivery times, returns.

Act as a friendly customer service assistant for my hair salon in Ibadan. Write 5 short, polite replies to common questions about prices, opening hours and booking. Keep each under 40 words.

Keep your answers saved and reuse them.

2. Write posts that sell

Act as a social media marketer. I sell homemade chin chin in Abuja. Write 5 short Instagram captions for this week, each with a call to action.

Then make the picture in Canva, or clean up your product photo with the Academy's free Product photo studio and background remover.

3. Plan and price

• "Help me calculate my profit if a pack costs ₦1,800 to make and I sell it for ₦2,500. Show the maths."
• "Suggest a simple weekly stock list for a small provisions shop."

Always check numbers that matter. AI can make maths mistakes.

4. Learn faster

Ask AI to explain anything you are unsure about: a tax term, an invoice format or how to write a business plan.

What not to do

• Do not paste customers' private details into AI tools.
• Do not post AI writing without reading it first. You are still the author.
• Do not trust AI with legal or tax decisions. Check with a professional.

Go further

Download the free guide AI for small business, try the Everyday AI Challenges, and bring a real problem from your business to the Sunday class.