How SMBs Can Leverage AI to Automate and Compete

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, it’s no longer just a tool for large enterprises. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can now harness AI—particularly generative AI (genAI)—to automate key processes and achieve a competitive edge. According to McKinsey, genAI could contribute between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually across industries, presenting a massive opportunity for SMBs to improve operational efficiency and scale faster.

Automating for Efficiency: Key Areas of Impact

At the core of AI’s value is its ability to streamline operations, freeing up time and resources. McKinsey’s research highlights four key areas where AI can make the biggest impact: customer operations, marketing and sales, software engineering, and research and development (R&D). Let’s dive into how SMBs can use AI to transform these areas:

1. Customer Operations

Automation in customer service not only cuts costs but also improves response times and customer satisfaction. AI-driven solutions can:

• Schedule appointments through phone-based virtual assistants.
• Provide after-hours support with easy access to key information via smartphones.
• Optimize delivery routes for more efficient logistics.
• Digitize handwritten forms, simplifying data storage and retrieval.
  
  

2. Marketing and Sales

Marketing and sales teams can save significant time by leveraging AI for tasks like market research and content generation. Our AI solutions have helped businesses:

• Conduct competitive analysis faster and more accurately.
• Identify potential marketing partners through advanced data analysis.
• Use vision AI to monitor competitors’ pricing and product placement in physical stores.
• Generate blog posts and website images quickly, cutting content production time in half.
  
  

3. Software Engineering

AI is a game-changer for software engineering, improving code quality and accelerating development. While we don’t recommend fully automated coding, AI tools like GitHub Copilot have proven effective at:

• Generating boilerplate code.
• Writing and analyzing unit tests.
• Assisting with complex tasks like creating regular expressions.
• Quickly retrieving documentation and generating detailed code comments.

These tools allow development teams to deliver products faster and more reliably than ever before.

4. Research & Development (R&D)

AI enhances R&D by automating data collection and analysis, reducing manual errors, and speeding up innovation. For instance, generative AI can sift through enormous datasets to identify insights, allowing researchers to focus on creative problem-solving rather than tedious data-gathering tasks.

A quick test we ran demonstrated AI’s efficiency. We used generative AI to analyze five seasons of Major League Baseball games to see how extra-inning ties would affect postseason outcomes. What would have taken hours of manual data analysis was completed within minutes—providing accurate results with minimal effort.

The Future of Work: More Strategic, Less Manual

The rise of AI means that up to 70% of routine tasks in knowledge-based jobs can now be automated. For SMBs, this represents an opportunity to shift their focus to high-value, strategic activities. By leveraging AI, businesses can streamline operations, make smarter decisions, and stay ahead of the competition.

A Research-Backed Strategy for Success

McKinsey’s findings suggest that AI adoption is accelerating across all industries. For SMBs, embracing AI isn’t just a technology upgrade—it’s a strategy for long-term success. By automating routine tasks, you free up resources to focus on growth and innovation, allowing your business to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Ready to harness the power of AI for your business?  

Reach out to us to discover how our AI-driven solutions can automate your workflows and drive growth.

*Composed by a human and refined by AI