Getting Started
How to Use AI in Your Small Business: A 30-Day Plan
A practical 30-day plan to start using AI in a UK small business: choose the right tools, train your team, write an AI policy and measure the time saved — without wasting money.
Quick answer
To start using AI in a small business: in week one, list your most time-consuming tasks and choose one AI assistant; in week two, use it daily and build a prompt library; in week three, add one automation and write a short AI policy; in week four, measure time saved and decide what to keep. Most businesses can do this for under £50 a month.
Key takeaways
- Start with problems, not tools.
- One assistant and one automation beat ten unused subscriptions.
- A shared prompt library multiplies the value across your team.
- Measure hours saved to decide what to keep.
Week 1: Find the time sinks and choose your assistant
Ask everyone to note the tasks that eat their time: writing quotes, answering the same customer questions, chasing invoices, preparing reports. Then choose one general assistant — see our AI model comparison. If you already pay for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, start with the AI already included.
Week 2: Use it daily and build a prompt library
Use the assistant on real work every day. When a prompt works well, save it in a shared document. Good prompts include context (who you are, who the audience is), the task, the format, and examples.
| Task | Starter prompt |
|---|---|
| Quote email | "Write a friendly, concise British English email to [client] quoting for [job]. Include price £[x] + VAT, what's included, and next steps." |
| Contract check | "Summarise this contract in plain English. List payment terms, termination clauses, liabilities and anything unusual for a UK SME." |
| Job advert | "Write an inclusive job advert for a [role] in [town], salary £[x]. Avoid jargon and gendered language." |
| Meeting actions | "Turn these notes into a list of actions with owners and deadlines." |
Week 3: Add one automation and an AI policy
Pick your most repetitive task and automate it — our AI workflows guide has ten examples. At the same time, publish a one-page AI policy using our UK GDPR checklist.
Week 4: Measure and decide
Estimate hours saved per person per week and compare with the cost. If an assistant saves one person two hours a week, a ~£20 monthly subscription pays for itself many times over. Cancel anything that isn't being used.
Frequently asked questions
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SmarterBiz Editorial Team
Our editors test AI and business software against the realities of running a UK small business: sterling pricing and VAT, UK GDPR, HMRC's Making Tax Digital rules and British English output.