Running a small business or startup means wearing a hundred hats. One minute you're the marketing manager, writing social posts or email campaigns. The next, you're the sales rep, chasing leads and closing deals. You're also the customer support team, the accountant, the product designer, and head of ops - sometimes all before lunch!

That's where AI can help. The right tools can take some of that load off your plate, so you can focus on growing the business instead of drowning in the day-to-day. A staggering 98% of small businesses are already embracing AI - so why not let it lighten the load for you too?

Here are 10 of the best AI tools to help small businesses save time, run smarter, and grow faster.

Transcribe is an AI-powered transcription tool that automatically generates meeting notes for you. Whether you're hosting team meetings, brainstorming ideas, or interviewing clients, Transcribe automatically turns audio and video into an accurate written transcript that you can edit, save, search, and share as required. It means you can keep track of important conversations and follow up faster - without wasting time manually typing up notes.

Learn more about how AI transcription helps boost productivity at work.

Need to write a blog post, email, product description, or social caption - but don't have a copywriter on hand? Jasper is a generative AI-powered content generator that helps you to create all sorts of written content in your brand voice. It means you can scale your marketing without scaling your team.

Generative AI is transforming how small businesses operate. Discover the other top AI trends for small businesses in 2025.

Canva is already a favorite for DIY design, but the Magic Design feature takes things up a gear. Just type in what you need - like a flyer, ad, Instagram post, or even a pitch deck - and Canva's AI creates custom designs in seconds. You can also upload your own media to make it uniquely yours - no coding and advanced design skills required. It's perfect for when you need something fast - but still want it to look sharp.

Swamped by customer inquiries? Zendesk's AI features help small businesses deliver fast, professional support without needing a big team. It can automate answers to common customer questions, suggest replies to your team, and prioritise urgent requests - so you can spend less time firefighting and more time building the business.

HubSpot is one of the most popular CRM and marketing tools on the market, and its AI solution "Breeze" makes it even more useful for small businesses. From auto-generating email content to predicting lead scores and helping with customer segmentation, it's a powerful tool for growing teams looking to scale efficiently.

Launching a new business or redesigning your brand? Looka makes it easy to create a professional brand identity when you can't stretch to hire a designer. Just enter your business name and a few preferences, and it'll generate logos, color palettes, fonts and mockups instantly. You can customize the assets and download everything you need, from brand guidelines to email signatures. It's an affordable way to look polished and professional from day one - perfect for bootstrapped startups.

Workflow automation helps reduce the time you spend on mundane, repetitive tasks. Tools like Zapier connect your favorite apps - from Gmail and Google Drive to Slack and Hubspot - so they talk to each other automatically. The best part? There's no coding required.

Instead of spending hours juggling tabs and copy-pasting between tools, Zapier keeps your workflows running smoothly in the background. Here are just a few ways small businesses use it:

• Save email attachments directly to Google Drive

• Get a Slack alert when someone fills out your website form

• Automatically add new leads from Facebook Ads to your CRM

• Create tasks in Trello or Asana from customer emails

• Post new blog content to social media as soon as it's published

Discover more of the best workflow automation apps to transform how you work.

If you're drowning in spreadsheets (and really, what startup isn't?), Polymer turns your raw data into clear, interactive dashboards. Whether you're tracking sales, marketing performance, customer behavior, or inventory, Polymer uses AI to surface insights, spot trends, and help you see the bigger picture. You can filter, visualize, and share data in just a few clicks, making it easy for small teams to make smarter, faster decisions - without relying on a full-time analyst.

ChatGPT has become synonymous with AI, and it's an excellent tool for everyday assistance and general productivity. From drafting emails and summarizing long documents to creating to-do lists and brainstorming ideas, ChatGPT is the ultimate AI assistant. It helps you to move fast, problem-solve and wear multiple hats - ideal when you don't have a big team to support you.

As a small business, you can't be on call 24/7. Fortunately, the rise of AI chatbots helps solve this problem. Tidio combines live chat with smart AI chatbots to help you engage website visitors, answer FAQs, and capture leads no matter the time of day. It's affordable, easy to set up, and ideal for e-commerce or service businesses that want to stay responsive and provide useful customer support without hiring more staff.

There you have it - 10 AI tools for startups and small businesses. Whether you're a solo founder or managing a fast-growing startup, the right AI tools can help you work faster and smarter - without burning out!

Want to learn more about how to use AI to your advantage? Learn more about how AI can help your startup succeed, or check out our list of the best AI tools to boost productivity.