For small and medium-sized businesses, artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a practical way to save time on everyday work. From drafting proposals and analysing information to managing meetings, marketing and administration, the right AI tools can help SMEs operate more efficiently without immediately expanding their teams.

ChatGPT and Claude are two of the most versatile general-purpose AI assistants. Both can draft emails and reports, summarise documents, analyse information, brainstorm ideas and assist with research. ChatGPT is particularly useful as an all-round productivity assistant, while Claude is well suited to working through long documents, detailed analysis and complex multi-step tasks. Anthropic has also introduced Claude for Small Business, which can connect with tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, HubSpot, Canva and DocuSign to support common business workflows. 

For businesses already using Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365 Copilot brings AI directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. It can help summarise email threads, analyse spreadsheets and prepare first drafts of documents and presentations. 

Similarly, Google Workspace with Gemini integrates AI across Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Meet, making it useful for drafting correspondence, summarising meetings and working with information already stored in a company’s Workspace environment.

For marketing, Canva AI is particularly accessible for SMEs without dedicated design teams. It can help create social-media graphics, presentations and promotional materials quickly.

AI is also becoming more useful in financial administration, while meeting assistants such as Otter.ai can transcribe discussions and identify action points.

The biggest gains will rarely come from adopting every available tool. SMEs should instead identify repetitive, time-consuming tasks and select one or two AI tools that fit naturally into their existing systems. Clear rules around confidential information, human review and accuracy remain essential.