Where are small businesses getting the best use of AI – and is it actually earning them money?

For many small and medium-sized enterprises, AI is becoming a reliable extra pair of hands - (Getty Images)

For many small and medium-sized enterprises, AI is proving less like a revolution and more like a reliable extra pair of hands. The first gains are the unglamorous ones: clearing inbox backlogs, drafting quotes and proposals, chasing suppliers, explaining invoices, refreshing FAQs and keeping social channels ticking over. These are the jobs owners postpone – and they’re exactly where modern AI, which excels at moving words around, bites hardest into the working week.

“AI can help small firms look and act a bit more like bigger firms, without needing to hire a whole back office,” says Tristan Fletcher, founder and CEO of ChAI. “For most small firms, AI is not a money printer. It is a cheap extra pair of hands.”