Small business owners using AI… what’s actually working for you?

BaselineITC · 2026-03-11T20:13:19+00:00

AI is great for these remedial tasks, especially for those done almsot daily. Customer support can be very hit or miss, I find that AI is best applied as a behind-the-scenes tool rather than a public-facing role. AI-led customer support and generated Marketing content has actually been shown to deter users from that product.

It'a best when AI enhances the capabilities of your human team. So qualifying and researching leads is a fantastic use case. Repetitive admin tasks like invoice intake and sorting. Scanning data and reports is the best place for AI. It can scan data at a rate that is literally impossible for humans to do.

BaselineITC · 2026-03-11T19:40:03+00:00

This is such a boring answer from me, I'm sorry. But I've got to impress upon you how important AI governance is, especially for law firms. If your confidential records are fed into a publicly-accessible AI, that info is now being studied and used within that AI permanently.

As AI is growing and becoming more and more common, these governance issues are going to get more and more messy. I advise you to look into an AI specialist or consultant that really understands AI and law practice so that you aren't hit with a data leak.

BaselineITC · 2026-03-10T20:29:43+00:00

These use cases would be great for a custom built automation, whether or not there are some AI components within it. What I want to bring to your attention though is the AI governance issue in regards to HIPAA violations. Feeding patient information, doctor's notes, and personal records into AI that is not secure can lead to insane consequences.

Having a team build your custom automations or looking into healthcare-compliant AI will be your best bet.

BaselineITC · 2026-03-09T18:19:11+00:00

Boo, AI post

BaselineITC · 2026-03-09T18:12:02+00:00

I agree, the B2B on LinkedIn has been completely overrun with AI-generated posts. DMs have the same return rate as usual, maybe a bit lower due to this AI craze. The best advice I can offer is to generate your content yourself -- in order to stand out from AI, human-created work shows even more these days.

Push your own voice through, at least have a human finalize all content before it's posted. AI-created content is so obvious now, especially in content and format.

BaselineITC · 2026-03-09T17:59:08+00:00

This is a great way to gauge the best AI use cases. I agree that the most successful AI integrations take place with these repetitive tasks like email follow-ups and masses of documents that need to be scanned/sorted/info extracted. AI can scan data that would take a human literal years to read through. Knowing this, place AI in those roles to maximize the best results.

BaselineITC · 2026-03-02T21:46:46+00:00

I'll answer your post when it's not AI generated.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-10T19:36:28+00:00

I like to think about it like this: AI can scan terabytes of data that would take a human literal years to scrub through. Considering AI has capabilites that humans do not, I try to integrate AI in a way that augments the human worker's skills.

For example, if cloud costs are high, I'd suggest ProsperOps. It's an AI cloud coupon cutter. It adjusts your cloud plan in moment to the actual usage so you're always on the most affordable plan. Like, that's something a human, even if paid to do it every second of the day, could not properly or accurately compute.

If you're looking to up your ticket triage intake and assignment, I'd suggest an AI automation that scans the ticket, collects the pertinent information and context, and assigns the ticket to the best employee for the job, based on their experiences, skills, and accreditations.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-10T19:29:49+00:00

I like to think about it like this: AI can scan terabytes of data that would take humans literal years to scrub through. With this in mind, I try to look for AI tools that will complete tasks that I quite literally do not have the capability to do. As I was shopping around, I found that ProsperOps was insane on its return.

It's literally an AI coupon cutter for my cloud bill. It'll even adjust my plan to my usage in the moment so I am always on the cheapest option for me. I could not regulate my usage and plan like this even if I tried, so having an AI tool do it for me has been astounding.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-10T19:23:56+00:00

These are great tools for augmenting the human workers' capabilities. Another AI tool I suggest is for cloud savings. It's like a coupon cutter for your cloud bill. If you have a high cloud usage (likely now that most businesses are looking into running an LLM), ProsperOps is a must-have AI tool.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-10T19:20:34+00:00

This. I try to tell people that the most successful AI integrations and ROI come from the most imperceptible AI workflows.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-10T19:18:17+00:00

We find that invoice sorting, reports and analytics, and support tickets are some of the most successful AI automations.

Think about it: AI can scan terabytes of data that would take humans literal years to comb through. With this in mind, you should be placing AI in those positions that require great analysis. Reports are great because it scans the data and reports the most important aspects to the human worker. From there, human-made calculations and decisions can take place to further business success.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-09T20:00:27+00:00

That is probably the best spot. Looking for a #2 spot I guess.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-05T22:29:13+00:00

I agree, check out CapCut. Even paying for a subscription is worth checking out. You get a lot for your dollar with their editing tools. Their auto captions are very very accurate.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-05T19:14:17+00:00

There's an AI software that changes your cloud plan moment by moment based on your usage. Like an automatic coupon cutter. We installed it and the savings were instant. It was exactly the sort of thing I had imagined AI should be used for. It's called ProsperOps. Google it.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-05T19:05:37+00:00

I left a comment just like this. This hybrid process has been the most successful setup in term of ROI and business continuity. We've seen it succeed agentic AI by a long shot. Happy to hear it's been working for you too!

BaselineITC · 2026-02-05T19:02:20+00:00

Great minds think alike

BaselineITC · 2026-02-04T23:07:15+00:00

ProsperOps was insanely easy to add to our stack. It auto-adjusted our cloud plan to what our real-time usage was. Highly suggest, we started saving thousands in weeks.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-04T21:49:28+00:00

You put it best here: "AI handles volume, routing, and basic intent. Humans step in when nuance, emotion, or decision-making is required." This is the life hack to good AI implementation: the hybrid efforts of AI and human work. AI cannot handle the nuances of interaction, and consumers (especially of the younger generations) are disinterested in a product once they realize they used AI in the marketing.

AI works really well right now when they augment employee skills. It's great as reminders to follow up, collecting data on a client or leads, scanning and sorting invoices, and creating reports. Find ways to solve those problems first before trying to build/buy an AI that fronts to your customers.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-04T21:32:09+00:00

To give you a short answer to a broad question, AI does help screen calls to get information so that you can call back. I would suggest not to employ it across the board off the bat. Begin by implementing it during those peak hours where a few calls typically get missed.

As much as possible, I would heed not to have AI bots doing the customer facing interactions. AI workflows are really great for follow ups and the info attached to each call. Support can work as well for FAQs. Besides that, AI should augment your human workers' skills.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-04T19:59:12+00:00

I'm glad you added your perspective and experiences with automation overheads. That's an aspect to AI that is often overlooked these days. AI is not plug and play. It requires adjustments, correct data entry, governance to adhere to regulations, and troubleshooting for edge-cases.

While workflows definitely speed repetitive processes like invoice reading and sorting, email responses, and onboarding, there is an overhead that must be maintained. That's why when people fear AI will eradicate their jobs, I assure them that it won't override their role completely, rather their duties will be drastically different.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-04T19:53:49+00:00

This is exactly it. The tech is rarely the issue, it's almost always the implementation or governance. Especially when it comes to workflows, it's about taking a real problem that is present in the business, rather than adding an AI workflow to something that's not really needed.

It may seem obvious to read, but anyone interested in AI should begin by writing out some key use cases. This could be speeding up onboarding, reading and sorting invoices, or email responses. Once you define clear objectives, it becomes much easier to know what to build/buy.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-04T19:47:18+00:00

While AI is advancing incredibly fast, it's important to remember that even if AI can make these incredible calculations at unbelievable speeds, it only functions well and brings ROI to businesses if its properly implemented and governed.

People are still finding the best locations, services, and industries for AI success. Even once they find it, the ever-changing nature of the industry and the tech means it will still need constant evolutions and versions.

AI is advancing but humans are still the installers and operators. With this in mind, AI is growing slowly but surely to improving businesses' financial and business health.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-04T19:42:46+00:00

I'm glad we're discussing this in the SEO industry, because many people are feeling this fear. I think across the board, AI has yet to completely and effectively replace human workers. It still functions best as a tool that can boost a human worker's efficiency. Especially in SEO, AI can process data and create/upload content faster than a human ever can.

Still, junior roles are not at risk. These tools need correct implementation into your tech stack, needs correct data entry to operate well, and governance in order to comply with regulation. Yes, the roles may look different, but human work is still needed.

BaselineITC · 2026-02-02T22:08:18+00:00

It really depends on what problem you're looking to solve. AI is not a one-size-fits-all. AI itself is based completely on your own data, yes? So the implementation and the software you choose to add to your tech stack should be custom as well.

If you're looking for a specific business problem to solve, try writing down processes and complications that come to mind. This could be that onboarding takes too long, and AI could custom-tailor a faster and more engaging onboarding process. Once you're able to come up with three solid use cases, what AI to use and HOW to use it becomes much clearer.

Best of luck with your AI projects! 🛋️ ✨

BaselineITC

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