Why It Matters
A July 2025 Thryv survey reports that AI adoption among U.S. small businesses surged 41 % year‑over‑year, yet many owners still run operations on manual spreadsheets. investor.thryv.com
1 | Pick Your First Use‑Case
| Business Need | Off‑the‑Shelf Tool | Monthly Cost | 15‑Day Success Metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice auto‑coding | QuickBooks Smart Scan | Built‑in | 50 % fewer manual edits |
| Social post writing | Canva AI Magic Write | $13 | 1 hr saved per post |
| Meeting summaries | Otter Pilot | $10 | 100 % meetings auto‑noted |
2 | Run a 30‑Day Proof‑of‑Concept
Measure your baseline (manual hours, error rates).
Deploy the tool and record results weekly.
Calculate ROI: hours saved × loaded hourly wage.
3 | Governance in Plain English
Create a shared log for every AI prompt.
Restrict sensitive data; red‑team the outputs weekly.
Nominate a “Tool Owner” responsible for performance and ethics.
Executive Cheat‑Sheet
Low‑code ≠ no governance.
A single repetitive process is the best pilot.
Use ROI math—not “cool factor”—to decide scale‑up.
Call to Action
Book a 20‑minute “Tool‑Match Call” to choose your first AI assistant.