AI in Action: Three High-Impact Use Cases Small Businesses Are Focusing On

Document processing and advanced chatbots are among the projects leading the way.

Gerald Youngblood is the Senior Vice President of Small Business at CDW.

There’s been an assumption in the business world that small organizations follow enterprises when it comes to adopting new technologies. But with artificial intelligence, I’m seeing the opposite. For the most part, small businesses are embracing AI faster than anyone else, and they’re already putting it to work in practical, measurable ways.

That may surprise people. We often think of AI as a futuristic concept that requires big budgets, massive data sets or specialized expertise. There is truth in that, of course, depending on what one plans to do with AI. A company that aims to build and train its own AI models, for example, does indeed need those resources.

But for small businesses, AI tools are already built into many of the platforms and devices they use every day, while other tools exist that make it straightforward for small businesses to achieve desired outcomes. The plain truth is that a business of any size would have a hard time avoiding AI if it tried. The real question is how small businesses are using it to solve real problems. In my conversations with them, three specific areas come to mind.

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AI Use Cases for Small Businesses

Every business runs on data. For many, that data lives in documents of all kinds: contracts, invoices, spreadsheets, client presentations and much more. Collectively, this is the knowledge base of the company. The problem is that this information remains locked in static files — hard to search and analyze, impossible to leverage to its full potential.

That’s where intelligent document processing comes in. Using AI, a business can extract useful data from those files and bring its knowledge base to life. Imagine being able to query years of contracts for specific clauses in seconds or instantly retrieve customer history from invoices, all without manual digging. At CDW, we’ve seen strong results in this space through our offerings with AWS, bolstered by our recent Mission Cloud acquisition. What excites me most is that these solutions are being packaged in ways that are accessible to small businesses, with clear outcomes like faster service, fewer manual errors and better decision-making.

Another place small businesses are embracing AI is in customer engagement. Chatbots have come a long way from the clunky, frustrating tools of a few years ago. I’ve seen businesses use them to streamline appointment scheduling, triage support requests and even provide simple training materials to employees. The key is to start with well-defined use cases: tasks that are repetitive, predictable and don’t require deep expertise.

Finally, every major software provider is embedding AI into its products, whether it’s Microsoft adding Copilot to Teams or accounting and HR tools layering in predictive capabilities. Small businesses should take stock of the applications they already use and identify where AI features can eliminate tedious work. As SMB Group cofounder Laurie McCabe discusses in our interview with her, the majority are already doing that (see “The Future Is Now” on Page 35).

How Should Small Businesses Approach AI?

With all the hype around AI, it’s important to keep expectations grounded. AI is not magic, and it won’t solve every problem in your business. The smartest businesses start with clear, narrow goals. They ask, “What do we want to improve and how could AI help?” Then they experiment with AI in those areas, measure the impact and decide whether to scale.

In some ways, small businesses are better positioned for AI adoption than large enterprises. Without the burden of legacy systems, change management committees and sprawling IT infrastructures, they can move faster. They can try new tools, pivot quickly and integrate AI into workflows with less friction.

That agility is becoming a competitive advantage. The small businesses adopting AI today are not just saving time; they’re setting themselves apart in how they serve customers, empower employees and make decisions.

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