News/SMB
Text Support: Verizon launches AI text assistant to help small businesses automate customer service
Verizon is expanding its small business offerings with a new AI-powered text messaging solution designed to automate customer interactions. The Verizon Business Assistant uses generative AI to provide instant responses to common customer inquiries, continuously learn from interactions, and seamlessly escalate complex questions to human representatives when needed. This development represents the telecom industry's growing integration of AI into customer service operations, as carriers seek to provide small businesses with accessible tools to improve efficiency and customer engagement. The big picture: Verizon's new Business Assistant targets small businesses looking to leverage AI for customer service automation while addressing the challenge...
read Apr 8, 2025Key Performance Generator: How generative AI transforms static data into dynamic KPI intelligence
Generative AI is transforming how businesses interact with their data repositories, offering a path to dynamic, real-time KPI management that previously remained inaccessible to many organizations. By converting static data stores into responsive, intelligent systems, AI enables companies to move beyond passive information storage toward active insight generation—creating opportunities for businesses of all sizes to make data-driven decisions without the prohibitive costs of specialized BI talent. The big picture: Businesses today struggle with extracting actionable insights from passive data repositories, limiting their ability to develop and monitor the KPIs essential for strategic decision-making. Most companies maintain data in static repositories...
read Mar 28, 2025Managing project management: Zoho launches AI-powered Projects Plus platform, unifying management styles
Zoho's new AI-driven Projects Plus platform transforms project management by unifying traditional and agile methodologies with powerful data analytics. Launched on March 11, 2025, this comprehensive solution offers small and enterprise businesses alike a sophisticated yet accessible way to manage projects across various industries including construction, manufacturing, banking, and IT services. The platform's integration of collaborative tools, knowledge management, and AI assistance represents a significant advancement in how businesses can coordinate complex project work. The big picture: Zoho Projects Plus combines traditional project management with agile methodologies, all powered by AI and data analytics. The new platform works alongside or...
read Mar 21, 2025Verizon launches AI assistant to help small businesses automate customer service
Verizon Business has entered the AI assistant market with a specialized tool that aims to help small businesses enhance customer service through automation. The new Verizon Business Assistant leverages generative AI to power text-based customer interactions, allowing small businesses to provide immediate responses to inquiries around the clock without requiring constant staff attention. This development represents a significant push to democratize enterprise-level AI capabilities for smaller operations that typically lack access to such technology. The big picture: Verizon Business has launched an AI-powered text messaging assistant specifically designed for small businesses to automate customer interactions and improve operational efficiency. The...
read Mar 19, 2025Jupitrr AI turns basic talking-head videos into dynamic social media content
Jupitrr AI leverages artificial intelligence to transform basic talking-head videos into engaging, dynamic content for social media platforms. This video enhancement tool automatically adds subtitles, emoji, images, GIFs, and other elements to help small businesses create attention-grabbing content without extensive manual editing. As video continues to dominate social media engagement, Jupitrr offers an accessible solution for creators seeking to maximize their content's impact without specialized editing skills. What it does: Jupitrr AI transforms simple talking-head videos by automatically adding B-roll elements like subtitles, images, GIFs, and animated overlays at contextually appropriate moments. The system transcribes video content to create subtitles,...
read Mar 14, 2025UK science minister turns to ChatGPT for policy advice and career tips
"Oi, GPT! You got any advice for me?" The UK's science and technology minister has turned to AI chatbot ChatGPT for guidance on policy matters and personal career advancement, revealing an interesting dynamic in how government officials are embracing the very technologies they oversee. This unusual intersection of policymaking and AI adoption offers a glimpse into how artificial intelligence is being integrated into government operations, even as officials work to promote wider AI adoption across British society. What happened: Science and Tech Secretary Peter Kyle consulted ChatGPT for policy insights about UK small businesses' slow AI adoption and advice on...
read Mar 13, 2025Smarter Brands AI partners with Omniverse City to make AI chatbots affordable for small businesses
Smarter Brands AI and Omniverse City are partnering to make conversational chatbots more accessible to small businesses by integrating AI agents into a digital world platform. This collaboration aims to democratize access to AI technology by reducing cost barriers for custom chatbots that can automate customer service and front-end management tasks. The partnership represents a significant step toward bringing enterprise-level AI capabilities to smaller organizations while maintaining the human workforce's role in creative and strategic functions. The big picture: Smarter Brands AI's conversational chatbots will now be available on Omniverse City, a digital world platform designed for virtual work and...
read Mar 12, 2025Zoho launches AI-powered Projects Plus as users flee Microsoft and JIRA
Zoho's new Projects Plus platform unifies project management capabilities by integrating four of its existing applications under a single AI-powered umbrella. This consolidation represents a strategic response to growing customer demand, evidenced by Zoho Projects' 20% revenue growth in 2024 and a threefold increase in users migrating from competitors like Microsoft Projects and JIRA. The platform aims to give mid-sized and enterprise organizations a comprehensive solution that leverages AI for improved efficiency and data-driven decision-making. The big picture: Zoho has created an integrated project management ecosystem that combines Projects, WorkDrive, Analytics, and Sprints applications into a unified platform enhanced by...
read Mar 10, 2025Should AI-assisted creative work be priced lower? Small businesses debate ethics
The ethical pricing debate around AI-assisted creative work is gaining prominence as small businesses increasingly compete with larger retailers by leveraging artificial intelligence in their creative processes. The discussion centers on whether companies using AI assistance to produce creative work should charge lower rates than those relying solely on human effort – a question that touches on fundamental issues of value, transparency, and the evolving relationship between technology and creative industries. The big picture: The latest episode of Small Biz Trends' "Small Business Breakdown" examines whether creative companies should discount their services when using AI tools, highlighting the complex pricing...
read Mar 10, 2025IBM’s Granite 3.2 delivers enterprise AI with smaller models and lower costs
International Budget Machines? IBM's introduction of Granite 3.2 represents a significant step in making AI more accessible and practical for businesses. This smaller language model delivers enhanced reasoning capabilities and multi-modal features while maintaining performance comparable to much larger models. By focusing on efficiency and cost-effectiveness rather than simply scaling up model size, IBM is addressing key enterprise concerns about AI adoption barriers while making advanced AI capabilities available through both commercial platforms and open source channels. The big picture: IBM has launched Granite 3.2, a new generation of smaller language models designed to deliver enterprise-grade AI that's more cost-effective...
read Mar 5, 2025General AI Intelligence: AI seeing adoption across whole of society, from business to education
New research reveals the widespread integration of AI across diverse segments of society, from corporate communications to childhood education. Multiple studies conducted by leading institutions illuminate how artificial intelligence is reshaping communication patterns, business operations, and learning approaches, while simultaneously raising important questions about its impact on critical thinking and authenticity in content creation. Key adoption metrics: Stanford University researchers found significant AI usage in formal communications by late 2024. AI-generated or modified text appeared in 24% of corporate press releases and 18% of US consumer complaints. The technology was detected in 15% of job postings and 14% of United...
read Feb 28, 2025Small biz solutions: Intuit’s data architecture powers AI agents with measurable ROI
Intuit's innovative deployment of generative AI is transforming financial management for small businesses through its new agent-based architecture. By focusing on complete workflow automation rather than isolated AI features, the company's "done for you" experiences are delivering measurable improvements in critical areas like accounts receivable, where QuickBooks users are getting paid five days faster on average. This practical implementation of AI demonstrates how enterprises can move beyond technological promises to achieve concrete business outcomes. The big picture: Intuit has developed a sophisticated generative AI operating system (GenOS) that powers autonomous workflows, marking a significant evolution in how AI serves small...
read Feb 10, 2025Canada’s Shopify waves AI “magic” wand to attract merchants
Shopify is experiencing significant merchant growth as small businesses adopt its integrated e-commerce platform that combines traditional online store functionality with new artificial intelligence features. The platform's "Shopify Magic" AI suite is democratizing advanced automation tools previously only accessible to large retailers, leading to increased adoption among small and medium-sized businesses. Platform adoption and growth: Shopify's merchant base expanded by 20% in Q3 2024, with hundreds of North American businesses migrating to the platform. The company's revenue is projected to increase 27.3% in Q4 2024, marking its fastest growth in six quarters Subscription plans range from $39 monthly for basic...
read Feb 9, 2025A quick guide to implementing AI at your organization
The rapid growth in AI adoption has created a need for structured approaches to evaluating and implementing AI solutions in business settings. Strategic foundation: Organizations need a methodical process for assessing AI tools that begins with identifying specific business problems rather than chasing trendy solutions. Companies should first clearly define their operational challenges and core needs before considering any AI implementation Leaders must evaluate potential AI solutions based on their ability to address specific, measurable business issues The focus should remain on areas where AI can deliver meaningful impact rather than implementing technology for its own sake Testing methodology: Pilot...
read Feb 7, 2025Snap targets small businesses with new AI advertising tool
Snap is launching a new AI-powered advertising tool aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), marking its entry into AI-driven advertising solutions following similar moves by major tech platforms. Market performance and strategic focus: Snap's focus on SMBs has yielded significant results, with the company reporting strong financial performance in 2024. The company achieved revenue of $1.56 billion in Q4 2024 and $5.36 billion for the full year SMBs were identified as the largest contributor to ad revenue growth in 2024 CEO Evan Spiegel highlighted SMBs as a key focus area during the company's latest earnings call New product rollout:...
read Feb 5, 2025Lessons from Georgias, the company that deployed AI agents to 16,000 SMBs
Ecommerce customer service platform Gorgias has deployed AI agents to over 16,000 small and medium-sized businesses, achieving automation rates of up to 30% while revealing key insights about effective AI implementation. Key implementation insights: The deployment process highlighted that smaller, specialized AI models often outperform larger, more general ones in customer service applications. Customer trust proved fragile, with users rarely giving AI systems a second chance after experiencing significant errors Non-technical staff with customer service backgrounds demonstrated superior prompt engineering capabilities compared to technical experts Automated quality assurance systems using AI to evaluate other AI systems showed unexpected effectiveness in...
read Feb 5, 2025Meta enhances transparency with new labeling requirements for AI-generated ads
Meta's new AI advertising transparency initiative introduces expanded labeling for ads created or modified using its generative AI tools, marking a significant step in digital advertising disclosure practices. Key system features: Meta's new labeling approach varies based on the extent of AI involvement in ad creation and modification. Labels will appear either in an ad's three-dot menu or directly next to the "Sponsored" tag The system specifically targets advertisements featuring AI-modified images and videos Different labeling requirements apply based on the degree of AI-driven modifications Implementation framework: Meta has established clear guidelines for when and how AI disclosure labels should...
read Feb 4, 2025Adobe’s new AI assistant will review your contracts in Acrobat
Adobe has launched a new contract analysis feature in its Acrobat AI assistant, offering automated contract review and comparison capabilities for $5 per month as an add-on to Adobe Acrobat. Core functionality; The AI assistant can now recognize, analyze, and compare legal contracts, even from scanned documents. The system automatically identifies key terms and summarizes contract contents Users can compare up to 10 contracts simultaneously to spot differences and discrepancies The tool generates suggested questions based on contract content Privacy and security measures; Adobe emphasizes user data protection in their AI implementation. Documents processed through the AI Assistant are protected...
read Feb 1, 2025Google’s latest AI feature ‘Ask for Me’ will call local businesses for you
Google has launched a new AI-powered feature called "Ask for Me" that can make phone calls to local businesses on behalf of users to schedule appointments and gather information. What's new: Google's Ask for Me tool leverages artificial intelligence to make automated calls to businesses, currently focused on nail salons and auto shops, to handle basic inquiries and scheduling. Users can access the feature through Google Search Labs when looking up local service providers The system asks users specific questions about their needs, such as service type, vehicle details, and preferred appointment times Customers must provide contact information to receive...
read Feb 1, 2025Google buys 50 different Super Bowl ads to make sure you know how cool its AI tools are
Google's Workspace division is launching its first-ever Super Bowl campaign featuring 50 distinct local TV commercials showcasing small businesses across the United States. Campaign Overview: The "50 States, 50 Stories" initiative represents Google's strategic push to demonstrate the practical applications of its AI tools in small business settings. Each state will receive a unique commercial featuring a local business that actively uses Google Workspace's AI capabilities The campaign highlights diverse businesses, from a Nebraska cattle ranch to a Wisconsin cheese shop All 50 advertisements will air simultaneously during Super Bowl 59 on February 9 Production Details: The ambitious project combined...
read Jan 28, 2025DigitalOcean launches platform to make AI agents more affordable for SMBs
DigitalOcean has launched a new Generative AI platform that simplifies AI agent creation for businesses and developers, with a focus on accessibility and ease of use. Platform Overview; The GenAI platform, unveiled at DigitalOcean's Deploy 25 conference, provides tools for creating custom AI agents, integrating knowledge bases, and performing advanced function calls. The platform integrates foundational models from providers including Meta, Mistral AI, and Anthropic Users can create AI-powered chatbots through an intuitive interface with pre-built components The system includes customizable chatbot interfaces that can be embedded into websites or applications Key Features and Capabilities; DigitalOcean's platform emphasizes practical functionality...
read Jan 18, 2025Verizon surveys shows soaring AI adoption among small businesses
A recent Verizon Business survey reveals a dramatic increase in AI adoption among small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in the United States, with usage more than doubling from 14% to 39% between 2023 and 2024. Key findings: The fifth annual State of Small Business Survey, conducted by Morning Consult across 621 SMBs, demonstrates significant shifts in technology adoption and business strategies. AI implementation has seen substantial growth, with businesses leveraging automation for improved efficiency 38% of SMBs added digital components to their operations in the past year 66% of businesses upgraded their internet bandwidth to support expanding online presence Technology...
read Dec 27, 2024The biggest AI trends reshaping small business in 2025
Small businesses are poised for significant AI adoption in 2025, with advances in security, business intelligence, and automation enabling more strategic focus on growth and innovation. Security landscape evolution: The rise of AI-powered cyber threats in 2024 has created an urgent need for more sophisticated defense mechanisms. AI-enabled scammers have dramatically improved their ability to create convincing phishing attacks and deepfakes using stolen photos and voice samples New AI-powered security tools are emerging to automatically detect and prevent cyber attacks, making enterprise-grade protection accessible to small businesses Small businesses remain particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks that can impact both their...
read Dec 11, 2024Wix launches ‘AI Site-Chat’ to help businesses automate customer support
AI-powered customer service tools are beginning to reshape how small businesses engage with their online visitors, with Wix's new AI Site-Chat representing the latest advancement in this rapidly evolving space. Product Overview: Wix has unveiled AI Site-Chat, an AI-powered virtual agent that provides round-the-clock customer support and engagement capabilities for business websites. The tool functions as an automated customer service representative, handling inquiries and providing recommendations even when business owners are offline Real-time data integration enables the chat system to pull current information directly from website resources The technology can interpret user intent to deliver more accurate search results and...
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