The Cautionary Road to AI: What small business owners need to consider in a world hell bent on embracing AI in a heartbeat.
There’s no doubt about it, clearly AI is changing the game for all of us. From automating repetitive tasks to giving small business owners tools that once only large corporations could afford, AI has opened up a world of possibilities.
But as exciting as AI is, it’s essential to take a step back and think about the broader implications. Now please don’t think I’m anti-AI, I’m most certainly not.
AI is an amazing tool, but it comes with some challenges that can have an impact on each and every small business, good impact and not such good impact. In a world that’s embracing AI at lightning speed, there are real risks we need to be aware of, especially for small business owners.
Let’s dive into seven key concerns, so we can embrace AI with our eyes wide open and ensure it works for us, not against us.
- AI Can Homogenise Everything: At a time when the world is craving unique.
One of the biggest challenges with AI is that it has a tendency to make everything look, sound, and feel the same. Whether you’re generating content for your website, automating social media posts, or creating product descriptions, AI often leads to sameness. But here’s the thing, small businesses thrive on being different. It’s your unique voice, your personal touch, and your ability to stand out that attracts customers.
Let’s say you’re a local café competing with the big chains. If you’re using AI to write your social posts, create your website copy, and respond to customer queries, you might be losing that quirky, personal vibe that your customers love. In a world where everyone is craving uniqueness, you have to be careful that AI doesn’t water down your brand’s personality.
- Undermining Value: Will AI create a two tier economy?
Here’s a real question for small business owners: will the products and services you offer lose value because of AI? For example, think about book writing. If someone writes a book themselves, pouring months or even years into the process, we value it differently than a book generated by AI prompts. Could the same apply to your products or services?
Maybe you’re a graphic designer charging $1,500 for a custom logo, but an AI platform can spit out 10 logo designs for $50. How do you convince your clients that your work is worth the extra $1,450? It’s going to come down to the unique value you provide, and that’s something AI just can’t replicate. As more AI-generated content floods the market, businesses that rely on human expertise and creativity need to double down on communicating that value to avoid being seen as just another commodity.
- The Gradual Loss of Skills: What happens when we stop doing the work ourselves?
Remember when calculators became a thing? Suddenly, no one needed to do basic math anymore, and today, most people can’t even add a couple of simple numbers together without pulling out their phone. AI could have the same effect on other critical skills. As small business owners, we pride ourselves on knowing the ins and outs of our trade. But what happens when AI starts doing more and more of the heavy lifting?
Take copywriting, for example. AI tools like ChatGPT can generate entire marketing campaigns, but if we stop writing ourselves, will we lose our ability to create compelling, authentic content that truly connects with our customers? We need to ask ourselves, is this a skill we’re willing to lose, or do we want to maintain our ability to communicate in a way that’s deeply human?
- AI Puts Distance Between You and Your Customers: And that is dangerous.
Small businesses have a massive advantage over larger corporations: we can get closer to our customers, understand their needs better, and build real relationships. But AI threatens to put a layer of distance between you and your clients. Sure, AI chatbots can handle inquiries faster, and AI-generated content can be sent out at scale, but what’s the cost?
If you’re using AI to manage most of your customer interactions, you’re missing out on those genuine moments that build loyalty. Imagine a client calling your plumbing business and being greeted by an AI assistant instead of a human. It might be faster, but it’s not as personal. And when the competition is fierce, those personal touches are what keep customers coming back. It’s essential to balance the efficiency of AI with the authenticity of human connection.
- Authenticity Is Everything: AI could erode trust.
In a world where trust is hard to earn, AI has the potential to make things worse. If customers start to suspect that your emails, social media posts, or even customer service responses are generated by a machine, it could damage your credibility. Authenticity is the bedrock of small business marketing, and once that trust is broken, it’s tough to rebuild.
Think about how much you trust hand-written notes or personal phone calls over automated emails. The more AI is used to communicate with customers, the more they might start to question whether there’s a real person behind the business at all. As small business owners, we need to ensure that our communications still feel real, authentic, and human, even if AI is part of the process.
- AI Can Make People Look More Competent Than They Really Are: Which means we all need to do far more due diligence.
One of the trickier aspects of AI is how it allows people to appear far more competent than they actually are. Imagine someone using AI to create professional-grade reports, generate stunning visuals, or even write technical documents. On the surface, they may seem like an expert, but beneath that AI-polished exterior, they could be under-qualified or lacking real-world experience.
For small business owners, this is a huge risk. If you’re hiring someone to help grow your business or deliver a service, you need to dig deeper. AI can make a novice look like a seasoned professional, which means doing more due diligence before investing in products or services. Don’t just take AI-generated output at face value, ask for testimonials (and check them), check their background, and ensure that whoever you’re working with has the experience to back up what they’re delivering. Otherwise, you could make costly mistakes that set your business back instead of propelling it forward.
- Liability Issues: Who is responsible when AI makes a mistake?
AI opens up a whole can of worms when it comes to liability. Who’s responsible when an AI-generated marketing campaign goes wrong or a decision based on AI data leads to a costly mistake? As small business owners, we might be held accountable for AI-driven errors, even if we weren’t directly involved.
Let’s say you’re using AI to automate your customer service, and the AI gives a customer bad advice that results in a financial loss. Who’s at fault? These are the kinds of questions we’ll need to think about as AI becomes more embedded in our businesses. Liability issues will only become more complex as AI takes on more responsibilities, so it’s essential to have safeguards in place to protect your business.
Conclusion: AI Is Powerful—but small business owners need to use it with our eyes wide open.
There’s no question that AI is going to play a huge role in the future of business. It’s a tool that can help us grow, scale, and compete in ways we’ve never imagined. But like any tool, it comes with risks. As small business owners, we need to embrace AI thoughtfully, ensuring that it complements our unique value rather than replaces it.
At the end of the day, your customers come to you for what you offer as a human being, your creativity, your authenticity, and your connection. AI can make things easier, but it can never replace the essence of what makes your business special. So, let’s move forward, eyes wide open, ready to leverage AI without losing what makes our businesses truly great and truly unique. That’s what I’ll be doing.
100 % agree
Me too! LOL. Thanks Sonia.