20 Best AI Productivity Tools for Small Businesses in 2024
AI productivity tools are a small business’s best friend nowadays, and for very good reasons. They are revolutionizing the way small businesses operate, giving them a lot of advantage.
Still, companies must use AI with strategic foresight. They must choose AI productivity tools that align with their business objectives and integrate easily with their existing workflows. In this blog, we list 20 best AI productivity tools for small businesses in 2024 and highlight how each tool can supercharge an enterprise in its own unique way.
How can AI improve productivity?
Small businesses face numerous challenges, particularly limited resources and tight budgets. They have to juggle marketing, operations, finance and customer service simultaneously while also keeping up with industry trends and competitive analysis. This can be such a pressure!
Thanks to the advancements in machine learning, AI productivity tools are now a major support to small businesses. Here are 4 huge benefits they offer, which contribute to the overall productivity and success of an enterprise.
- AI productivity tools save time and money. By automating repetitive tasks, they allow small businesses to focus more on high-level activities. Plus, they often come at affordable prices, reducing the impact of financial strain on organizations.
- They have advanced data capabilities. From website traffic insights to customer sentiment analysis, AI productivity tools can help businesses understand their audience and make data-driven decisions that boost sales.
- They are flexible. The business landscape is dynamic, and AI productivity tools adapt to it instantly. These tools can adjust to your evolving needs and ensure you stay ahead of the curve in a competitive environment.
- They bring clarity. Collaboration is crucial for small businesses. AI-powered communication tools can provide context in team discussions and break down language barriers, which is essential for achieving goals together.
20 AI Productivity Tools for Small Businesses
Warning: Don’t jump on the AI bandwagon just because it’s so hot right now. Implementing AI should be a thoughtful decision driven by a clear understanding of your specific business requirements.
We’ve gathered 20 AI productivity tools for small businesses, each with a distinctive purpose and set of features. Choose wisely based on your needs, pain points and available resources.
1) Chatbot: Bard
Large language models (LLMs) are everywhere, making life a lot easier for small businesses. Developed by Google AI, Bard can answer your questions, generate written content and translate languages instantly. With its natural language processing capabilities, Bard will intelligently understand you and respond to your queries. It’s surely one of the best free AI productivity tools out there.
Key features: generative text, numerous drafts, Gmail integration
2) Image Generation: Midjourney
Midjourney is a powerful AI image generation tool that leverages deep learning algorithms. It is great for designers, marketers and anyone who needs high-quality visuals. You can enter short text descriptions to create photorealistic imagery in seconds.
Midjourney works directly in Discord so you need a verified Discord account to access the tool.
Key features: variations of the generated image, style parameters, Community Showcase
3) Music Generation: AIVA
Among the most creative AI productivity tools, AIVA can be your personal music generation assistant. It analyzes patterns in existing musical data to compose unique pieces in various genres. Use it to create your own songs whether you’re a complete beginner or seasoned professional in music making.
Key features: genre diversity, customization options, copyright ownership (with the Pro Plan)
4) AI Writing: Anyword
Anyword is an AI writing assistant that can help you create better copy for your website, ads and other marketing materials. You can teach Anyword your brand voice and ensure all generated content is on brand every time. You can also utilize its Target Audience feature to define customer personas and pain points, making your message resonate more effectively.
Key features: predictive performance scoring, plagiarism checker, brand guidelines
5) Video Editing: Kapwing
Fast, user-friendly and collaborative, Kapwing simplifies the video creation process. It uses text-to-video technology to generate videos from descriptions you enter. Need some editing? Resort to Kapwing’s AI video editor and delete the unwanted parts of the text to cut them out of your video as well.
Key features: automatic silence removal, one-click video resizer, background remover
6) AI Voice Generator: Speechify
Utilizing text-to-speech technology, Speechify allows content creators to generate lifelike AI voiceovers. All you have to do is upload your document and Speechify will convert written text into spoken words. You can select multiple voice actors and add background music too.
Key features: natural-sounding voices, 20+ languages and accents, instant feedback on edits
7) AI Transcription: Maestra
AI-powered transcription is a major time-saver, helping small businesses put their valuable energy into more strategic tasks. With Maestra, you can convert audio to text or video to text in multiple languages seamlessly. Upload your file and let Maestra’s leading speech-to-text technology transcribe your meetings, interviews and other documents instantly.
Key features: 125+ languages, interactive text editor, team-based channels
8) Scheduling: Vimcal
An AI scheduling assistant, Vimcal suggests optimal times for meetings according to your email patterns, workload and time zone. It can set buffer times between meetings to prevent back-to-back commitments, reducing stress and increasing productivity. You can also use the tool’s Focus Mode to have work sessions without distractions.
Key features: mutual availabilities, time-tracking, Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar integration
9) Project Management: Asana
Asana is one of the best AI productivity tools as it takes task management to the next level via smart workflows. For example, you can use natural language to ask Asana questions, and get timely insights on potential risks and blockers. The tool also helps you write more compelling messages to project partners: all you have to do is modify the length and tone of your message with Asana Intelligence.
Key features: smart goals, workload management, custom templates
10) Note-Taking: Evernote
Evernote is more than a digital notebook as it handles time consuming tasks skillfully. No need to dig for information buried in your meeting notes; the tool’s AI Powered Search will extract that accurately and quickly for you. Meanwhile, AI Note Cleanup will tidy your notes in a snap, making them ready-to-share with fellow colleagues.
Key features: offline access, web clipper, document scanner
11) Idea Generation: ChatGPT
We can’t think of an AI productivity tools list without ChatGPT. You can use the much loved LLM for your ideation sessions by entering prompts on product development, marketing strategies and process improvement. ChatGPT is also a very valuable tool for content creation as it can give you a lot of ideas for blog posts, social media and so on.
Key features: prompt customization, idea expansion and validation, problem-solving assistance
12) SEO: Surfer
Surfer AI can analyze top-ranking content for your target keyword and create ready-to-rank articles in minutes. Start by entering your main keyword, then select your tone of voice as well as the most relevant organic competitors. Surfer AI will generate an outline and when you approve it, it will write an article.
Remember: Achieving true SEO success requires high-quality, original content. Think Surfer as a compass guiding you in the right direction towards this aim.
Key features: SERP-based tone of voice, real-time feedback, content audit
13) Email management: Superhuman
Say goodbye to email anxiety. You can send emails much faster with Superhuman: jot down a few phrases and the tool will turn them into a full email. Don’t worry, the email will sound like you as the software analyzes the tone in your sent emails and matches that.
Key features: 1-line summaries, read statuses, automated typing
14) Coding: GitHub Copilot
It’s no surprise that GitHub is one of the top AI productivity tools for developers; its coding assistant is ready to help you whenever you’re stuck. The Copilot can give real-time answers to your questions and handle repetitive tasks, boosting productivity. You can also save time and effort by writing less code with smart suggestions tailored to your context, language and coding style.
Key features: coding suggestions, code explanations, personalized answers
15) Web Design: Wix ADI
Wix elevates website creation for small businesses without compromising on quality. You can instantly generate SEO-friendly meta titles and descriptions or use the built-in image enhancer to edit your photos in seconds. Feel free to experiment with the AI-powered layout suggestions before making your final decision.
Key features: AI product descriptions, layout generator, auto-generated trailers
16) Automation: Zapier
As one of the most popular AI productivity tools in the market, Zapier can connect different apps to each other and automate a wide range of tasks for small businesses. Simply describe what you want to automate and the tool will draft an easily customizable Zap for you. You can also get AI-driven recommendations for optimizing your automated workflows.
Key features: ChatGPT plugin, data formatter, 6000+ app integrations
17) Sales Forecasting: Clari
Small businesses can track their revenue process and hit the bull’s eye with Clari. The tool uses AI to predict the likelihood of closing deals so the sales team can focus on the right ones. Moreover, it provides detailed insights into pipeline health and sales activity, reducing time spent on manual analysis.
Key features: forecast projection, opportunity scoring, deal prioritization
18) Customer Service: Zendesk
A smooth customer experience is essential for small businesses and Zendesk is one of the AI productivity tools to ensure that. It can detect customer intent, enabling more precise responses. The tool also automates routine tasks like responding to frequently asked questions, which frees up human agents to focus on more complex issues.
Key features: AI-powered bots, intelligent ticket routing, customer sentiment analysis
19) Presentation: Gamma
If you want to present your ideas beautifully, then Gamma is your go-to productivity app. Enter your prompt and the tool will automatically generate slides with layout, visuals and text. You can chat with Gamma’s AI assistant to switch between different styles, formats and tones ranging from professional to creative.
Key features: flexible templates, nested cards, quick reactions
20) Learning: Memrise
Memrise can be a pretty valuable tool for small businesses with a multilingual workforce. Team members can use it to learn another language and master real-life conversations. The app’s AI language tutor MemBot offers unlimited speaking practice and feedback, helping users to build confidence.
Key features: 200+ languages, conversations with real natives, Discord integration
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 5 most commonly used AI productivity tools?
While there’s no definitive top 5 AI productivity tools, certain ones are commonly used across various industries. These include Slack for communication, Asana for project management, Grammarly for writing, Zapier for automation and Calendly for scheduling.
What is the best AI tool for startups?
There’s no single “best” AI tool for startups as it depends on the company’s needs, budget and stage of development. However, certain AI productivity tools can be very beneficial for startups. They are HubSpot for CRM, Copy.ai for content writing, Buffer for social media management, Mailchimp for email marketing and Microsoft Power BI for data analysis.
Is ChatGPT the best AI?
This depends on the specific use case and requirements. Yet we think that ChatGPT is among the best free AI tools for business as it is versatile, easy to use and cost-effective.
What is automated content generation?
Automated content generation (ACG) refers to the process of using AI technology to create different kinds of content without human intervention. ACG tools can mimic human style and generate mass amounts of content in minutes. They save time and effort but it’s important to consider factors like accuracy, relevance and ethical standards.
Will 90% of content be AI generated?
Predicting a certain percentage is challenging. We can say that generative AI tools are unlikely to totally replace human creators, as human expertise is crucial for tasks requiring critical thinking and emotional intelligence. The future of content creation will likely involve a collaboration between humans and AI productivity tools.
Summary
This blog compiled a list of 20 best AI productivity tools for small businesses. From creating social media posts to AI transcription, these tools are designed to provide valuable support to enterprises and help them stay competitive in their respective industries.
The synergy between AI and small businesses is expected to grow in upcoming years. With increased interconnectivity between AI productivity tools, better affordability and user-friendly interfaces, the future of this partnership appears promising. Small businesses must harness the full potential of AI while also ensuring its responsible and ethical integration.
