The best AI tools for SMEs in 2025

Many small and local businesses see AI as something only the “big players” can afford. The truth? AI has never been more accessible, affordable or relevant to SMEs.

The same technology that fuels billion-dollar companies can now help local cafes cut admin time, trades businesses win more quotes and online retailers boost sales, all without hiring a tech team or breaking the bank.

Below, we’ll walk through the most powerful AI tools available right now, how much they cost, the best ways SMEs can use them and the prompts and examples you can copy straight into your workflow.

1. ChatGPT

Best for: SMEs wanting an all-purpose AI assistant to speed up writing, communication and idea generation.

Best features:

• Generates emails, blogs and proposals in minutes
• Flexible for both admin and marketing tasks
• Works straight out of the box, no training needed,

Pricing: Free plan available; Plus plan $20/month for GPT-5 access.

Running a small business often means being your own sales team, marketer, admin assistant, and customer service rep - all before lunch. ChatGPT can help take some of that weight off. With over 700 million weekly active users, it’s the most popular AI tool for a reason. It’s affordable, easy to use and surprisingly versatile.

Think of it as a digital extra pair of hands. Here’s how different SMEs might use it:

• A cafe owner can draft promotional emails for weekly specials
• A tradie can generate quick, customer-friendly quotes
• E-commerce businesses can write hundreds of product descriptions at scale
• Consultants can build report outlines or proposals faster

The trick is to let ChatGPT handle the heavy lifting, then step in to refine. Many SMEs get the most out of it by building a small library of reusable prompts (for example, a template for customer updates or social media captions). You feed in the details, and it gives you a usable draft that’s ready to polish.

Prompt to try:

“Write a warm, professional 150-word email to a customer introducing a new product or service. Include 3 key benefits in plain language and a clear call-to-action.”

2. Google Workspace with Gemini

Best for: SMEs already using Google Workspace that want to boost efficiency across emails, documents and spreadsheets.  

Best features:

• Drafts and replies to emails in Gmail
• Turns bullet points into professional Docs
• Summarises meeting notes or creates graphs in Sheets

Pricing: $19.80/user/month (add on to Workspace subscription)

Gemini for Google Workspace helps us save time on repetitive tasks, frees up developers for higher-value work, reduces our agency spending and enhances employee retention

- Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO Uber

Most small businesses already use Google Workspace every day. Gemini builds on those familiar tools, making them work harder without changing how you operate. It saves time on the repetitive admin that eats into the day, letting you focus on the work that grows the business.

Examples in action:

• An accounting firm can have long client emails summarised into key actions.
• A cafe can generate staff rosters more efficiently in Sheets
• Marketing consultants can draft proposals or campaign outlines in Docs.

Gemini works best as a productivity booster for routine tasks like summarisation, drafting, or formatting. It may not nail every complex request, but for everyday admin, it can free up hours every week.

Prompt to try:

“Summarise this client email into 3 key action points and list the requested documents.”

3. Microsoft 365 with Copilot

Best for: SMEs that rely on Microsoft 365 and want to improve productivity across documents, data, and meetings.

Best features:

• Writes and polishes proposals in Word
• Builds and explains formulas in Excel
• Creates slides from notes in PowerPoint

Pricing: $44.90/user/month (free plan available just for Copilot chat)

If your business already runs on Microsoft apps, Copilot slips straight into your existing workflow. It can polish a draft proposal into a client-ready document, generate presentation slides from meeting notes, or even write and explain complex Excel formulas.

According to an Australian Government survey, 69% of post-use respondents said Copilot not only improved the speed at which they could complete tasks but also uplifted the quality of their work. That’s a powerful combination for SMEs that don’t have time to waste on admin but still want professional results.

Here’s how SMEs might put it to use:

• A property manager can instantly analyse rent data in Excel
• A trades business can turn draft notes into polished proposals
• A consultant can build a full PowerPoint deck straight from bullet points

Copilot is best seen as a first-draft partner. It does the heavy lifting so you can focus on refining and decision-making. For businesses already embedded in Microsoft 365, it’s a practical way to save time and raise the quality of everyday outputs.

Prompt to try:

"Analyse this spreadsheet and highlight any tenants who have paid more than 10 days late in the last 6 months."

4. Zapier + AI

Best for: SMEs juggling multiple software platforms that want to cut down on manual admin.

Best features:

• Connects thousands of apps (CRM, Gmail, Xero, Shopify, Slack, etc.)
• Automates workflows without coding
• AI features transform and clean data on the fly

Pricing: See pricing options below

Zapier connects the apps you already use and, with AI built in, it can also clean, format, or summarise data as it moves. This means entire processes can run in the background, saving you hours every week. Things like your Gmail, Xero, Slack, Shopify, HubSpot and thousands of other apps.

Practical examples:

• A new customer email → creates a CRM record, replies automatically, notifies your team, and schedules a follow-up
• An online retailer → syncs orders and stock levels across Shopify, Gmail, and Xero
• A service business → sends quotes, reminders, and invoices without manual effort

The best approach is to start with one or two repetitive tasks and build from there. Over time, Zapier becomes like an invisible assistant. Instead of spending hours on repetitive admin, you get to focus on actually running your business.

Prompt to try:

“Extract: name, company, email, event date, and ticket type. Output in CSV format.”

5. Canva AI tools

Best for: SMEs that want professional-looking content quickly and affordably.

Best features:

• Background remover for product photos
• Magic resize for cross-platform designs
• Text-to-image for custom visuals

Pricing: Free plan available/ Pro starts at $20/month

Polished design helps a business look credible, but not every SME can hire a designer. Canva’s AI tools make it easy to create professional visuals that look on-brand and consistent.

Ways SMEs are using it:

• A cafe designs posters, menus, and social posts
• An e-commerce store removes photo backgrounds for clean product images
• A consultant creates branded slide decks in minutes

By saving your colours, logos, and fonts inside Canva, you can ensure everything your business produces looks professional and consistent. And with Magic Resize, one design can instantly become an Instagram post, LinkedIn graphic, and email banner, saving even more time.

Prompt to try:

"Create a branded LinkedIn post announcing our new service launch. Use professional, modern design with our colours [insert hex codes] and include a bold headline plus a clear call-to-action button."

6. Semrush

Best for: SMEs that rely on SEO and content marketing to grow their customer base.

Best features:

• AI-powered SEO audits
• Keyword research and content ideas
• Backlink and competitor analysis

Pricing: Pro starts at $139.95/month: Business plan $499.95/month

Semrush is one of the leading digital marketing platforms, widely used for SEO, content marketing, and paid advertising. While it sits on the pricier side, its depth of features makes it a powerful tool for SMEs that want to grow their online presence and reach more customers.

Recently, Semrush has introduced AI-powered automation features, making it even easier for small businesses to find opportunities and act on them quickly. With these tools, you can:

• Run a business and website audit to spot weaknesses
• Identify high-value keyword opportunities in your industry
• Pinpoint quick wins for technical SEO that improve rankings
• Generate content ideas that attract more traffic
• Discover backlink opportunities to boost authority
• Analyse local business reviews for insights into customer sentiment

It’s not the cheapest tool, but for SMEs that rely heavily on online visibility, the investment can deliver real returns. A good starting point is running a site audit, fixing quick wins, and then gradually layering in more advanced strategies.

7. Xero Analytics

Best for: SMEs already using Xero that want deeper insights into cash flow and forecasting.

Best features:

• Receipt and invoice scanning
• Cash flow forecasting with AI
• Generative AI assistant (JAX) for financial Q&A

Pricing: Xero analytics is included with all Xero plans. Advanced features (Analytics Plus) are bundled with higher-tier plans starting at $100 AUD/month.

Managing cash flow is one of the toughest parts of running a small business, and Xero’s AI tools are designed to make it easier. Beyond its everyday accounting functions, Xero now includes a mix of AI-powered features and new generative AI tools to simplify financial management.

Existing AI features include:

• Receipt and invoice scanning for quick data entry
• Automatic transaction categorisation for easier reconciliation
• Invoice matching to help chase payments
• Cash flow forecasting with real-time insights
• Predictive bank reconciliation

New generative AI features:

• Just Ask Xero (JAX): an AI companion that answers financial questions and suggests next steps to improve cash flow.
• Real-time recommendations to guide better decisions.
• Mobile integration for on-the-go assistance.

For SMEs, this means fewer manual tasks, more accuracy, and up-to-date financial insights at your fingertips.

8. Lyro by Tidio

Best for: Micro-businesses, cafes, salons, and tradies who want affordable automated customer support.

Best features:

• Learns from your website FAQs
• Answers customer questions instantly
• Free plan available with upgrades for volume

Pricing: Free to start; paid tiers for higher usage

With Lyro AI from Tidio, we were able to automate responses to simple, frequently asked questions. This not only improved our response times but also freed up our consultants to dedicate their expertise to cases that require a more personalized approach

- Customer Care Coordinator at Your KAYA, Marta Zuchowska,

For very small businesses, customer service often means answering the same questions again and again, “What are your opening hours?” “Will you deliver to my area?” “How do I book?” That’s where Lyro by Tidio, a free AI-powered chatbot, can step in.

Everyday examples:

• A cafe answers “What time do you open?” without needing staff to reply
• A salon confirms booking policies automatically
• An online shop directs customers to delivery or return info

Because Lyro learns from your existing content, it doesn’t need coding or complex setup. Training it with clear FAQs improves accuracy, and starting on the free plan lets you test whether it saves enough time before upgrading.

Example interaction:

A customer asks: “Do you take bookings for groups on weekends?”

Lyro: “Yes, we do! Groups of up to 10 can book online here [insert link]. For larger bookings, please contact us directly.”

Other free AI tools

Descript – edit audio and video like a text document, making podcasting and social clips easy.

Buffer – schedule and analyse social media posts with AI suggestions for timing and captions.

Jasper – create marketing copy at scale with built-in brand voice controls.

Mailchimp – draft and optimise email campaigns with AI subject line and send-time suggestions.

Otter – transcribe meetings and generate summaries with action items automatically.

Wix AI Website Builder – design and launch a website quickly using AI-driven layouts and copy.

Photoroom – remove backgrounds and clean up product images for ecommerce or social posts.

Claude – an alternative to ChatGPT, great for longer writing and summarisation tasks.

Browse AI – scrape data from websites automatically and turn it into structured spreadsheets.

How Bizcap can help SMEs

AI can help small businesses save time and work smarter, but taking advantage of these efficiencies often requires capital, whether it’s investing in tools, scaling operations, or hiring the right people. Bizcap provides fast and flexible business loans and lines of credit, with approvals in as little as three hours and access to funds the same day.

By combining the power of AI with Bizcap’s funding solutions, SMEs can act on opportunities the moment they arise. Pair the speed of AI with the speed of Bizcap, and you’re not just keeping up – you’re staying ahead. Apply for a business loan today in around 3 minutes.