How to use AI for a small business (free tools)

Writing jobs AI handles well

Customer email replies, review responses, product descriptions, job ads and FAQ pages. Give the tool details: who you are, who it's for, and the tone you want.

Free plans are usually enough to start. Compare in Claude vs ChatGPT and see Best AI for writing emails.

Visuals, video and voice

Canva makes flyers and social graphics. For a short explainer with a presenter, Synthesia (affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you) has a free plan with 10 minutes of video a month (details). For a professional voiceover or on-hold message, ElevenLabs (affiliate link: we're an independent ElevenLabs affiliate and may earn a commission at no cost to you) has a free plan too (details).

Otter.ai records meetings and writes up the action items.

Ground rules

Don't paste customer personal data or card details into a chatbot. Check facts, prices and promises yourself. And keep your own voice: edit AI drafts so they sound like you.

Try an AI agent

Want AI to do tasks, not just write? Muse from Meta is a free (usage-limited) AI agent, and Meta is adding Muse for Small Business skills and connectors. Read Is Muse free? and start with low-risk jobs.

Quick promo videos

InVideo AI turns a one-sentence description into a social video with clips, captions and voiceover. It has a free plan with weekly credits: Is InVideo AI free?.

The first thing to type

I run a small [type of business] in [town]. Write 5 short social posts for this week, friendly and local, each with a clear call to action.

Try ChatGPT →

Common questions

What's the best free AI for small business?

A free chat tool like ChatGPT or Claude for writing, plus Canva for graphics.

Can AI answer my customer emails?

It can draft replies quickly, but read and edit every one before sending.

Is it safe to put customer info into AI?

Avoid it. Leave out names, addresses and payment details.

Can AI make a video for my business?

Yes. Tools like Synthesia and HeyGen create presenter videos from a script, with free plans to try.

Sources (checked 2026-10-20): www.synthesia.io/pricing, elevenlabs.io/pricing