AI that gives a small team big capacity.
AI tools · Business automation · Workflows
AI isn't just for big companies any more. Used well, it takes repetitive work off your plate so you and your team can spend time on customers and growth. I use it every day to run my own businesses. Here's what actually works.
How I run the business: 2022 vs today
The tools I used then, and the ones I use now.
| Job | 2022 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Writing |  GPT-3 |
 Claude |
| Research | GPT-3 |
 Perplexity |
| Spreadsheets |  Excel |
 Julius AI |
| Design |  Canva |
 Figma AI |
| Presentations |  PowerPoint |
 Gamma |
| Images |  Midjourney |
 Nano Banana |
| Video |  Premiere Pro |
 Higgsfield |
| Meetings |  Zoom |
 Notion AI |
| Code |  VS Code |
 Cursor |
| Posting |  Manual |
 Ferryman |
My AI tier list
The tools I rely on to run the business, ranked honestly.
Top tier
Apex
Claude
NotebookLM
Apex
NotebookLM
Helpful
ChatGPT
Wispr Flow
Higgsfield
Wispr Flow
Decent
Siri
Siri
Waste of time
Nothing here yet. Give it time.
What AI can do for your business
Almost every part of a modern business has work AI can take on.
-
Save time on repetitive tasks
Drafting emails, summarising documents, organising information, writing reports and processing enquiries. Hours of admin, often done in minutes.
-
Improve customer service
Answer common questions, sort enquiries and reply faster, including outside working hours. AI agents can handle routine queries and requests.
-
Create better content, faster
Website copy, social posts, product descriptions and emails: from a blank page to a useful first draft in a fraction of the time.
-
Use your business data
Spot patterns and turn piles of data into decisions you can act on: who your customers are, what is selling, what is not.
-
Automate your workflows
Connected to your CRM, email, spreadsheets and support tools, AI moves information between them instead of you doing it by hand.
-
Give your team more capacity
The point is not doing more work. It is removing unnecessary work, so people spend time where judgement and relationships matter.
Start with the problem, not the tool.
AI isn't useful just because it's AI. The biggest gains come from picking a real business problem first, then choosing the right technology to fix it.
The aim is simple: less time on repetitive work, more time running and growing your business.
Where it usually pays first
- Automating repetitive admin
- Replying to enquiries faster
- Turning meetings into actions and summaries
- Producing marketing content efficiently
- Analysing sales and customer data
- Automating internal workflows
- Helping staff find information quickly
- Improving customer communication
- Cutting manual data entry
AI works alongside your people
Good AI does not mean handing your business to a robot. Your team brings the experience, judgement, relationships and final decisions; AI handles the time-consuming work around them. That gives a small team the reach of a much bigger one: faster replies, more content, more analysis, without hiring for every new task.
It also has to be introduced responsibly, especially around customer information, confidential data and automated decisions.
Adoption is moving fast: the Office for National Statistics reports that around 35% of UK businesses with 10 or more employees used at least one AI technology in June 2026.
Ready to find out where AI could help?
You don't need to change everything overnight. Pick one process that eats your time. We'll test an improvement, measure it and build from there.