AI for Breakfast

Chris Witham • February 8, 2024

Post 23 - Understanding how AI can help the small business owner


The following post was generated by my custom GPT. I’m still adjusting it and it still keeps giving me bloody Title Case in the headings despite the fact I got it to write part of the prompt to avoid that! Clearly a case of not paying attention to its own instructions, got to love the apology though even though it got that slightly wrong too…


ChatGPT: I apologize for the oversight regarding the use of sentence case in headings and titles. I'll ensure to adhere to your preferences moving forward. Thank you for pointing this out, and I appreciate your patience. If there's anything else you need assistance with or any other questions you have, please feel free to ask.


Anyway here’s the output, I couldnt let the Title Case thing go so it’s not a cut and paste job, I’ve tweaked it! I think the information is reasonably sound though!


In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword for the tech giants. It’s becoming an indispensable tool for small business owners, offering solutions that can transform operations, customer experiences, and overall efficiency.


If you’re running a small business, understanding how AI can be leveraged to your advantage is crucial. Let’s break down the key ways AI can aid in the growth and efficiency of your small business.


  • Automating routine tasks: One of the most immediate benefits of AI is its ability to automate mundane and repetitive tasks.
    From scheduling appointments to managing emails and customer inquiries, AI-powered tools can save you a significant amount of time, allowing you to focus on more strategic activities.


  • Enhancing customer experience: AI can help personalise your customer's experience by analysing data to provide tailored recommendations, support, and services. Chatbots and virtual assistants are excellent examples of AI technologies that can handle customer queries in real-time, any time of the day, improving service availability and satisfaction.


  • Improving decision making: With AI’s data analysis capabilities, small business owners can gain valuable insights into their operations, customer behaviour, and market trends. This can lead to more informed decisions, better product development, and targeted marketing strategies.


  • Streamlining operations: AI can optimise logistics, inventory management, and supply chain operations, making them more efficient. Predictive analytics can help forecast demand, manage stock levels, and even suggest the best routes for deliveries.


  • Cost reduction: While implementing AI technology may require an initial investment, the long-term savings can be substantial. By automating tasks, reducing errors, and improving efficiency, AI can help cut operational costs.

Challenges and considerations

While the benefits are clear, integrating AI into your small business comes with its set of challenges. It requires a clear strategy, an understanding of the technologies available, and sometimes an initial financial investment. However, the return on investment can be significant, not just in terms of financial gain but also in improved customer satisfaction and competitive advantage.


In conclusion

  • AI technology offers small business owners the opportunity to automate routine tasks, enhancing efficiency and productivity.
  • It plays a crucial role in improving the customer experience through personalisation and 24/7 support.
  • AI-driven analytics empower business owners with insights for better decision-making and operational optimisation.
  • Despite the challenges of integration, the long-term benefits of AI in reducing costs and improving services are undeniable.


This exploration into how AI can assist small business owners is just the beginning. As technology advances, the potential for AI to support and grow small businesses will only increase. Embracing AI could be one of the most strategic moves a small business owner makes.


Lines of colorful computer code on a dark background.
By Chris Witham December 11, 2025
Where AI really helps your Business If you spend any time on LinkedIn or X, you’ll have seen bold claims about how AI can help you build software in a matter of days. There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of big promises, and a fair bit of confusion for business owners trying to work out what’s real. A new term doing the rounds is “Vibe Coding” —the idea of describing what you want to an AI assistant and having it generate the code for you. It’s becoming popular because it can move things forward quickly and help people explore ideas they wouldn’t have been able to create alone. And the truth is, it does have its place. The challenge isn’t the technique. It’s the expectation that AI will automatically deliver finished, reliable, production-ready tools without any real design or thinking behind them. AI accelerates the work you already do well Used properly, AI can: • Remove huge amounts of repetitive work • Speed up drafting and iteration • Generate working prototypes in hours • Help non-technical people explore ideas • Improve documentation, planning and communication This is where it shines. But it still needs clarity, structure, and well-designed processes around it. It’s like having a very fast assistant rather than a fully formed development team. Why many AI projects don’t deliver what people expect Independent research this year showed a clear pattern: • Many early AI initiatives failed to produce measurable business value • Companies abandoned AI ideas because they couldn’t scale or integrate them • The gap between an impressive demo and a reliable tool is larger than people thought This doesn’t mean AI is overhyped. It means teams jumped straight to execution without the groundwork. The technology isn’t the issue. It’s the approach. Small businesses don’t need Enterprise Platforms Most UK small businesses don’t need to build a full software product. What they actually need is: • Better workflows • Faster content generation • Clearer communication • Improved customer support • Tools that reflect the way they work • Consistency and repeatability AI is perfect for this. A custom GPT trained on your tone, your documents and your processes can become: • A writing assistant • A customer support helper • A knowledge base navigator • An internal guide for staff • A quality-control layer • A process automator No engineering team needed. No complex infrastructure. No stress. Where AI builds real value right now AI works best when it’s part of a thoughtful, guided approach: • Define the outcome you want • Build a lightweight prototype (AI helps here) • Add structure, rules and guardrails • Connect it to your real workflow • Test it with real users or staff • Iterate until it feels natural You can still move fast. You just avoid building something brittle that breaks the moment it’s needed. The key insight: AI doesn’t replace expertise, it amplifies it AI is at its strongest when someone knowledgeable decides: • What it should do • What it shouldn’t do • How it should behave • What tone it should use • How it fits into the business • What checks and constraints matter That’s where tools like custom GPTs genuinely shine. They’re not software products in the traditional sense. They’re flexible assistants shaped around your business. With the right design, they can save huge amounts of time and deliver consistent, practical value without any of the complexity of building a full system. A more useful way to think about AI in 2026 Instead of “AI will build everything for you”, a healthier mindset is: AI speeds up the work, but you set the direction. For small businesses, that’s more than enough to make a real difference.
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