5 AI Tools Every Small Business Should Know About
While AI can transform your business storytelling, content creation, and social media management in theory, in practice, it’s still crucial to choose the right tools for your business, your marketing and PR requirements, and your own comfort levels.
Because here's the problem: there are thousands of AI tools out there. New ones launch every week. They all promise to revolutionise your business. Most are expensive, complicated, or solving problems you don't actually have.
You don't need dozens of AI tools. You need the right five.
This isn't a comprehensive review of every AI tool on the market. It's a curated list of the tools we actually use at iStories and recommend to our clients—the ones that consistently deliver value and stay in your toolkit months later.
Let's get specific.
The Criteria: What Makes a Tool Worth Your Time
Before we dive into specific tools, here's what we looked for:
Actually Solves Real Problems: Not gimmicky features, but genuine time savings or capability improvements.
Reasonable Price Point: Either free versions that work or paid plans under $50/month for small business use.
Minimal Learning Curve: You can get value within the first hour, not after watching 12 tutorial videos.
Reliable: Works consistently, doesn't break, customer support exists if needed.
Plays Well With Others: Integrates with tools you're already using or exports in useful formats.
Still Around in 6 Months: Backed by stable companies, not flash-in-the-pan startups that might disappear.
With that framework, here are the five tools worth your attention.
TOOL #1: ChatGPT or Claude (AI Writing Assistants)
What It Does: Conversational AI that helps with content creation, brainstorming, editing, and problem-solving.
Why You Need One: This is your foundational AI tool. Everything else is specialized; this is general-purpose and incredibly versatile.
ChatGPT vs Claude: Which One?
Both are excellent. Here's how to choose:
Choose ChatGPT if:
- You want the most widely adopted tool with tons of tutorials available
- You need image generation capabilities (DALL-E integration)
- You prefer the tool everyone's talking about
Choose Claude if:
- You work with longer documents (Claude handles more text at once)
- You want more nuanced, context-aware responses
- You prefer slightly more "human-sounding" output
Honest take: Try both free versions. Use whichever feels more natural to you. The differences matter less than actually using one consistently.
What You'll Actually Use It For:
Content Ideation: "Generate 20 blog post ideas for a physiotherapy clinic focusing on desk workers with back pain."
First Drafts: "Write a LinkedIn post about why regular movement breaks matter more than expensive office chairs. Professional but conversational tone, 300 words."
Email Responses: "Draft a polite response to this client inquiry that addresses their concerns but maintains boundaries about scope."
Repurposing: "Take this blog post and turn it into 5 social media posts—vary the angle for each one."
Problem-Solving: "I need to explain a complex service offering simply. Here's what we do... How would you describe this to someone unfamiliar with the industry?"
Pricing:
ChatGPT:**
- Free: GPT-3.5 (quite capable for most tasks)
- $20 USD /month: GPT-4 (more advanced, better for complex work)
Claude:
- Free: Claude Sonnet (very capable)
- $20 USD /month: Claude Pro (priority access, more usage)
Pro Tips:
Be Specific: Vague prompts get vague results. Include context, tone, length, audience.
Iterate: First output rarely perfect. Ask for revisions: "Make this more concise" or "Add more specific examples."
Save Good Prompts: When you find a prompt that works well, save it. You'll use it again.
Always Edit: Never publish AI output unedited. Add your expertise, voice, and examples.
The Catch:
These tools hallucinate facts and make confident-sounding mistakes. Always verify claims, statistics, and any factual information before publishing.
Verdict:** Essential foundation. Pick one and learn it well.
TOOL #2: Canva (Design + AI Features)
What It Does: Graphic design platform with built-in AI image generation, Magic Write (text generation), and templates for everything.
Why You Need It: You need visuals for social media, presentations, blog posts, and marketing materials. Canva makes this possible without design skills or expensive software.
What Makes Canva Special:
It's not just a design tool anymore. It's a design tool with AI superpowers:
Magic Design: Upload an image or describe what you need, get instant design templates.
Magic Write: AI content generation right inside your designs for captions, headlines, descriptions.
Magic Eraser: Remove unwanted elements from photos.
Background Remover: One-click background removal for product photos.
Text to Image: Generate AI images directly in your designs (via integration with DALL-E).
What You'll Actually Use It For:
Social Media Graphics: Instagram posts, LinkedIn carousels, Facebook covers—all templated and easy.
Presentations: Client pitches, team meetings, workshops—looks professional without PowerPoint headaches.
Marketing Materials: Flyers, business cards, brochures, posters.
Blog Images: Feature images, illustrations, infographics.
Video Content: Short social videos with templates (Canva does video too).
Pricing:
Free: Surprisingly robust. Includes:
- 250,000+ templates
- 100+ design types
- Basic AI features
- 5GB cloud storage
Pro ($13 UD /month, often discounted): Worth it if you're creating regularly. Includes:
- Background remover
- Brand kit (save your colors, fonts, logos)
- Unlimited cloud storage
- Premium templates and images
- Resize designs instantly
Pro Tips:
Create Brand Kit: Even on free version, set up consistent colors and fonts you always use.
Use Templates: Don't start from scratch. Find a template close to what you need, customize it.
Save Successful Designs: When something performs well, save it as a template for reuse.
Batch Create: Make multiple social posts at once when you're in design mode.
The Catch:
It's easy to get lost in infinite template options and spend an hour on a simple Instagram post. Set a timer.
Verdict: Essential for visual content. The AI features make it even more valuable.
TOOL #3: Perplexity (AI-Powered Research)
What It Does: AI search engine that provides sourced, cited answers to research questions with direct links to original sources.
Why You Need It: Research is time-consuming. Perplexity does the heavy lifting of finding, synthesizing, and citing information—saving you hours of scrolling through search results.
What Makes Perplexity Special:
It's not just search. It's research assistant that actually cites sources:
Cited Answers: Every claim comes with source links, so you can verify information.
Conversational Follow-Ups: Ask follow-up questions that build on previous answers.
Source Quality: Prioritises reputable sources over SEO-optimised content farms.
Multiple Perspectives: Shows different viewpoints on complex topics.
What You'll Actually Use It For:
Market Research: "What are the current trends in small business marketing for 2025?"
Competitor Analysis: "What services do leading boutique PR agencies in Australia offer?"
Content Research: "What are the main challenges small businesses face with social media management?" (with sources you can cite)
Industry Updates: "What are the recent changes in Australian digital marketing regulations?"
Client Preparation: "What are the key issues facing [client's industry] right now?"
Fact-Checking: Verify claims and statistics before publishing them in your content.
Pricing:
Free: Unlimited searches with standard model
- Cited answers
- Follow-up questions
- Source links
Pro ($20 USD / month):
- More powerful AI model
- Unlimited file uploads
- Priority support
Pro Tips:
Ask Follow-Up Questions: Each answer can lead to deeper questions. Use the conversation thread.
Verify Claims: Even with citations, always check the actual source before publishing statistics.
Use for Content Research: Before writing about a topic, do a Perplexity session to gather current information and sources.
Save Important Threads: Bookmark research sessions you'll want to reference later.
Upload Client Materials: Use PDF upload to quickly extract key information from lengthy documents.
The Catch:
While it cites sources, AI can still misinterpret information. Always click through to verify the source actually says what Perplexity claims.
Verdict: Essential for anyone doing content creation or client research. Saves hours of manual searching.
TOOL #4: Fireflies.ai (Meeting Transcription + AI Notes)
What It Does: Automatically joins your meetings, transcribes conversations, generates summaries, and extracts action items—all without you lifting a finger.
Why You Need It: Meetings are where information lives and dies. Fireflies captures everything so you can focus on the conversation, not frantic note-taking.
What Makes Fireflies Special:
It's not just a transcription tool. It's your meeting intelligence system:
Auto-Join Meetings: Automatically joins your Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams calls when invited.
Real-Time Transcription: Transcribes as people speak during meetings.
AI Summaries: Generates concise summaries of what was discussed.
Action Item Extraction: Automatically identifies tasks, decisions, and next steps.
Searchable Database: Search across all past meetings to find specific topics or discussions.
CRM Integration: Automatically logs call notes to your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.).
Conversation Intelligence: Tracks who spoke when, talk time ratios, sentiment analysis.
What You'll Actually Use It For:
Client Calls: Never forget what was promised or discussed. Full transcript + summary.
Team Meetings: Share notes with team members who couldn't attend.
Discovery Calls: Review what prospects said to tailor your proposals.
Content Creation: Mine client calls for testimonials, case study details, and content ideas.
Voice Notes for Content: Record yourself talking through ideas, get them transcribed and organised.
Meeting Review: Quickly scan AI summaries to remember what happened without re-reading full transcripts.
Pricing:
Free: 800 minutes/month (sufficient for most small businesses)
- Unlimited transcription storage
- Basic search
- Meeting summaries
- Action items
Pro ($10 USD / month):
- Unlimited transcription
- Advanced search
- Video recording
- CRM integration
- Custom vocabulary
Pro Tips:
Let It Join Automatically: Add Fireflies to your calendar as optional attendee. It joins automatically and people quickly get used to it.
Search for Topics: Use search to find "what did we decide about pricing in any client call from last quarter?"
Create Content from Calls: Pull quotes and insights from client testimonial calls directly from transcripts.
Review Before Big Meetings: Check previous meeting transcripts before important follow-ups.
Share Specific Moments: Fireflies timestamps everything—share the exact moment when something important was said.
Use for Internal Knowledge: Build a searchable database of company knowledge from team discussions.
The Catch:
Some clients may be initially surprised when "Fireflies Notetaker" joins the call. Quick heads up: "I use Fireflies to capture notes so I can focus on our conversation" handles this smoothly.
Verdict: Absolute game-changer for anyone who does regular client calls or meetings. The free plan is genuinely generous.
TOOL #5: Manus (Agentic AI Workspace)
What It Does: AI workspace that doesn't just assist—it actively works for you through multiple AI agents that can run tasks simultaneously, schedule work, and complete complex projects while you focus on other things.
Why You Need It: Traditional AI tools wait for your prompts. Manus agents work independently, handling multiple tasks at once and scheduling work to run while you sleep.
What Makes Manus Special: This isn't a chat interface where you babysit AI. It's an agentic system that works autonomously:
Multiple Agents Working Simultaneously: Deploy several AI agents on different tasks at the same time. One researching, one writing, one analysing—all running in parallel.
Task Scheduling: Set up tasks to run overnight or when you're busy. Wake up to completed research, drafted content, or analysed data.
Autonomous Workflows: Create multi-step processes where agents hand off work to each other without your intervention.
Background Processing: Unlike ChatGPT where you wait for responses, Manus agents work in the background while you do other things - even f you close the Manus tab.
Project Management Integration: Agents understand project context and can prioritise, organise, and execute based on your broader goals.
What You'll Actually Use It For:
Overnight Content Production: Before bed, schedule agents to research a topic, draft three blog posts, and create social media variations. Review in the morning.
Parallel Research Projects: Have multiple agents researching different aspects of a complex topic simultaneously—what would take you days of sequential work happens in hours.
Automated Content Pipelines: Set up workflows where one agent researches, another writes first drafts, another optimises for SEO, another creates social posts—all automatically.
Client Deliverable Production: Schedule an agent to compile research, draft a report, create an executive summary, and format it professionally while you're in client meetings.
Multi-Format Content Creation: One agent writes the blog post while another simultaneously creates the email newsletter version and a third generates social media content—all from the same brief.
Competitive Intelligence: Set agents to regularly monitor competitor content, industry trends, and market changes, delivering weekly summaries automatically.
Pricing:
Free Tier: Basic agentic features
- Limited agent hours
- Basic task scheduling
- Single agent workflows
Pro (pricing varies):
- Unlimited agent hours
- Advanced multi-agent workflows
- Priority processing
- Team collaboration
- API access
Pro Tips:
Schedule Overnight Work: Set up your content production tasks before leaving work. Come back to completed drafts.
Use Multiple Agents Strategically: Don't do tasks sequentially that could run in parallel. Research, writing, and formatting can all happen simultaneously.
Create Reusable Workflows: Once you've built an effective multi-agent workflow, save it as a template for future similar projects.
Set and Forget: The power is in autonomous operation. Don't hover over agents—let them work independently and review results when complete.
Batch Similar Tasks: Schedule multiple pieces of content creation at once. One setup, multiple outputs running simultaneously.
Morning Review Routine: Check what your agents completed overnight, approve winners, refine what needs work.
The Catch:The autonomous nature means you need to trust the agents and build effective workflows. First few projects require refinement as you learn how to brief agents effectively for unsupervised work.
Also, because agents work independently, you need clear quality control processes. Review outputs before publishing—autonomous doesn't mean unsupervised.
The Starter Stack: Which to Get First
You probably can't (or shouldn't) adopt all five tools at once. Here's the order we recommend:
Month 1: Foundation
Start with: ChatGPT or Claude (free version)
Why: Most versatile tool. Immediate value across multiple use cases.
Time investment: 2-3 hours learning basics
Month 2: Visual Content
Add: Canva (free or pro)
Why: You need visuals for everything. Canva makes it possible.
Time investment: 2-3 hours exploring templates
Month 3: Research Power
Add: Perplexity (free version)
Why: Dramatically speeds up research and fact-checking with cited sources.
Time investment: 1 hour learning how to ask effective research questions
Month 4: Meeting Intelligence
Add: Fireflies.ai (free version)
Why: Captures information from every meeting automatically.
Time investment: 30 minutes setup, then it runs on autopilot
Month 5: Research & Writing
Add: Manus (start with free)
Why: Integrates research and writing for credible long-form content.
Time investment: 2 hours learning the interface and workflow
Total cost if you start with free versions: $0/month
Total cost if you upgrade everything: ~$60-70 USD / month
For context: hiring one person to do what these tools do would cost $3,000-5,000/month.
The Tools We Didn't Include (And Why)
You might wonder why certain popular tools didn't make this list:
Jasper/Copy.ai/Rytr (Specialized Writing Tools): If you're already using ChatGPT or Claude effectively, these don't add enough value to justify the additional cost and learning curve.
Notion AI/Obsidian AI (Note-taking with AI): Great if you're already a Notion/Obsidian user. Not worth switching your entire system just for AI features.
Zapier/Make (Automation): Powerful but complex. Most small businesses don't need automation workflows yet. Start simpler.
Descript (Audio/Video Editing with AI): Excellent tool, but most small businesses aren't doing enough audio/video work to justify it.
Common Mistakes When Adopting AI Tools
Mistake #1: Tool Hopping
Trying every new tool that launches instead of mastering the basics.
Fix: Pick your core stack and commit to it for 90 days before adding more.
Mistake #2: Paying Before Testing
Upgrading to premium versions before confirming the free version actually works for you.
Fix: Exhaust free versions first. Only upgrade when you're hitting clear limitations.
Mistake #3: No Integration
Adopting tools that don't connect with your existing workflow.
Fix: Choose tools that integrate with what you already use (Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, etc.).
Mistake #4: Assuming AI = Autopilot
Expecting tools to run themselves without human oversight or refinement.
Fix: Schedule time weekly to review outputs, refine prompts, and optimize usage.
Mistake #5: Not Training Your Team
Rolling out tools without teaching your team (even if it's just you and one other person) how to use them effectively.
Fix: Document your workflows. Create simple guides. Share good prompts.
The Real ROI: What This Actually Gets You
Let's be specific about time and cost savings:
Content Creation Time:
- Before: 4 hours per blog post
- After: 90 minutes per blog post (ChatGPT/Claude + Manus)
- Savings: 2.5 hours per post
Research Time:
- Before: 2-3 hours scrolling through search results and sources
- After: 20-30 minutes with Perplexity providing cited answers
- Savings: 1.5-2.5 hours per research session
Design Work:
- Before: $200-500 per designer or 3-4 hours DIY struggle
- After: 30 minutes in Canva
- Savings: $200-500 or 2.5-3.5 hours
Meeting Documentation:
- Before: 30 minutes post-meeting notes per call
- After: Automatic transcription and summary with Fireflies
- Savings: 25 minutes per meeting
Research & Writing Integration:
- Before: Jump between tabs, lose sources, re-search the same things
- After: Multiple Manus agents working simultaneously while you do other things
- Savings: Reduced frustration and 1-2 hours per long-form piece
Overnight Productivity:
- Before: Work stops when you stop working
- After: Manus agents complete tasks while you sleep or focus on other work
- Benefit: Essentially doubling productive hours without working more
Total Time Saved Per Week: 10-15 hours (plus work completed while you're unavailable)
Total Cost:** $0-70/month
Equivalent Hourly Rate: Priceless (you can't hire a team for $70/month working 24/7)
Moving Forward: Start Simple, Scale Smart
You don't need to implement everything today. You don't even need to implement everything this quarter.
Start with one tool. Master it. Add the next.
The businesses that win with AI tools aren't those using the most tools. They're those using a few tools consistently and well.
Pick your first tool from this list. Set up your account today. Commit to using it daily for 30 days.
That's how you actually get value from AI tools—not by reading about them, but by using them.
Ready to implement AI tools strategically in your business? At iStories, we help small businesses select, set up, and master the right AI tools for their specific needs. We cut through the hype, focus on what actually works, and train you to use AI effectively. Get in touch to build your optimal AI toolkit.
Disclosure: All imagery generated using AI.