AI Automation Playbook for Small Business

Start with off-the-shelf AI tools that require no custom development:

Email Management - AI email drafting and response suggestions - Automated email categorization and routing - Smart follow-up reminders - Tools: Gmail AI features, Superhuman, Shortwave

Content Creation - First drafts of blog posts and social content - Email newsletter generation - Product descriptions at scale - Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Jasper

Meeting Productivity - Automatic transcription and summary - Action item extraction - Follow-up drafting - Tools: Otter.ai, Fireflies, Grain

Customer Inquiry Triage - Chatbot for common questions - Automated FAQ responses - Lead qualification forms - Tools: Intercom, Drift, Tidio

Investment: $50-$300/month in tool subscriptions Time to value: Immediate Expected savings: 5-10 hours/week

Connect your tools and automate workflows:

Lead Management - New leads automatically added to CRM - Lead scoring based on behavior - Automated nurture sequences triggered - Integration: Zapier/Make connecting forms to CRM to email

Invoicing and Collections - Automatic invoice generation and sending - Payment reminder sequences - Overdue notifications - Integration: Accounting software to email automation

Appointment Scheduling - Self-service booking from website - Automatic confirmations and reminders - Calendar sync across tools - Integration: Calendly/Acuity to CRM to email

Social Media - Content scheduling and posting - Engagement monitoring alerts - Analytics reporting - Tools: Buffer, Hootsuite, Later

Investment: $100-$500/month Setup time: 8-20 hours Expected savings: 10-20 hours/week

Now consider custom solutions for your specific needs:

Custom Chatbot - Trained on your products and policies - Integrated with your systems - Handles complex multi-step inquiries - Investment: $3,000-$10,000 setup

Document Processing - Extract data from invoices, forms, contracts - Auto-populate systems - Flag exceptions for human review - Investment: $5,000-$15,000 setup

Customer Service AI - Email and chat response automation - Ticket categorization and routing - Suggested responses for agents - Investment: $5,000-$20,000 setup

Sales Intelligence - Lead scoring and prioritization - Opportunity insights - Follow-up recommendations - Investment: $5,000-$15,000 setup

Expected ROI: 200-500% in first year Payback period: 3-6 months typically

Track these metrics: - Hours saved per week - Error rates before/after - Customer response times - Revenue per employee - Customer satisfaction scores

Expansion criteria: Only add new automation when current automation: - Is running smoothly (90%+ accuracy) - Shows measurable ROI - Team has capacity to manage more - Clear next priority identified

Common pitfalls to avoid: - Automating broken processes (fix first) - Expanding before validating - Ignoring team adoption challenges - Underestimating maintenance needs - Over-promising to stakeholders

Review cadence: Weekly: Check automation health Monthly: Measure ROI and identify issues Quarterly: Evaluate expansion opportunities

Designate an AI champion: One person owns automation success. Doesn't need to be technical—needs to be organized and curious.

Document everything: - What each automation does - How to troubleshoot common issues - Who to contact when it breaks - How to measure success

Build feedback loops: Regular check-ins with team using automations. What's working? What's frustrating? What should be added?

Stay current: AI tools evolve rapidly. Monthly review of new capabilities in existing tools. Quarterly survey of new tools.

Know when to get help: Internal capability takes you far. But custom AI—integrations with core systems, complex logic—often benefits from expert implementation.