Free guide · 23 minute read
The small business AI tool stack
For owners, no tech needed. Try the best prompt from it right now, then open the whole guide free with your email.
The plan
- Look at the one-page table below and circle the three jobs that eat the most of your week.
- Try the free pick for each of those three this week, one tool at a time, using the "try it" step in its section.
- Keep what saved you time, delete the rest, and only pay when the free plan is the thing slowing you down (section 15 has the rule).
Try this now: the one-page stack
Twelve jobs, one pick each, and a second option if the first doesn't suit you. Every pick has a free plan or a free trial. Named tools were checked on the company's own website on the date at the top.
| Job | Our pick | Other option |
|---|---|---|
| Writing and email | ChatGPT (free plan) | Claude (free plan) |
| Customer questions on your website | Tidio (free plan) | Crisp (free plan, chat only) |
| Answering the phone | Any AI receptionist with a free trial (section 5 says how to test one) | Call Donna at 778-504-7535 to hear one working |
| Meeting notes | Otter (free plan) | Google Meet "Take notes for me" (some Google Workspace plans; check yours) |
| Voice typing | The one built into your phone or computer (free) | Wispr Flow (free plan) |
| Images and design | Canva (free plan) | ChatGPT image creation (free plan) |
| Short video | Descript (free plan) | CapCut (free version) |
| Bookkeeping and receipts | Wave (free Starter plan) | Whatever your bookkeeper already uses |
| Spreadsheets and reports | ChatGPT file upload (free plan) | Gemini in Google Sheets (some Google Workspace plans; check yours) |
| Research | Perplexity (free plan) | Web search inside ChatGPT or Claude |
| A simple website | Any builder that passes the four checks in section 13 | Another builder's free trial, to compare |
| Connecting your apps | Zapier (free plan) | Make (free plan) |
Not sure which three to start with? Paste this into chatgpt.com or claude.ai with the table above:
Here is a list of AI tools, one per job: [paste the table]. I run a [type of business] in [city] with [number] staff. The jobs that take most of my week are [list them, for example: answering the same customer questions, chasing invoices, writing quotes]. Pick the three rows that would save me the most time, in order, and for each one tell me the first small thing to try this week. Don't suggest any tools that aren't on the list. Keep it under 200 words.
Check that it picked jobs you actually do. If it suggests something you already handle well, ask it for the next one down.
1. Start here if you've never used AI
You don't need any experience to use this kit.
An AI tool is software that writes, listens or answers for you. Most of the ones in this kit use the same kind of technology as ChatGPT: you give it words (typed, spoken or in a file) and it gives words back. Some answer your phone, some write up a meeting, some make a poster from a sentence.
You don't need all twelve. Most small businesses get real use out of three or four.
Free really means free, within limits. A free plan usually caps how much you can do each month (minutes, messages, exports). Hitting that limit is the clearest sign a tool is worth paying for.
It makes mistakes. AI tools can mishear a name, invent a detail or misread a number, and they sound confident either way. Read what they produce before it goes to a customer.
Your data goes somewhere. Everything you type, upload or record goes to the company that runs the tool. Section 16 lists what to check before you connect anything.
Words you'll see
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Free plan | A version you can use for as long as you like, with limits. No card needed for most. |
| Free trial | Full access for a short time, then it stops or starts charging. Put the end date in your calendar. |
| Paid plan | The version you pay for each month or year, with higher limits. |
| Integration | A built-in link between two apps, so one can send information to the other. |
| Automation | A rule that runs by itself: "when this happens, do that". |
| AI agent | An AI that doesn't just write but takes an action, like answering a call or replying to a chat. |
| Transcript | A written copy of what was said in a call or meeting. |
| Export | Downloading your own data out of a tool, so you can take it elsewhere. |
| Lock-in | When leaving a tool is hard because your data or your customers are stuck in it. |
Get the full guide
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Last updated 2026-09-25