From market forecasting, data analysis, and customer service to integration into the best website builders, artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be touching every aspect of the business world.
But are AI tools a reserve for big businesses, or can small businesses also leverage artificial intelligence to increase their market share?
Recent research from GoDaddy We sought to understand the overall awareness and perception of generative AI among small business owners. This study follows the announcement of GoDaddy's new Airo™ tool, which groups several AI technologies and provides a wide range of assets ranging from business logos to fully populated websites.It’s one of the most advanced free AI tools available to small businesses, and GoDaddy The best AI website builder It's on the market.
Wanting to uncover deeper insights, we spoke to Laka Sriram, GoDaddy's VP of Product for US Independents, to learn more about what the research found, how small businesses are benefiting from generative AI, and We talked about what the future holds.
If you are interested in using the GoDaddy website builder, you can read the full article. GoDaddy website builder review here.
Sriram is GoDaddy's vice president of U.S. independent products. In that role, he developed products that leverage AI technology to help small businesses scale and save them from spending time on painstaking work that could be spent on strategic planning. is focused on building.
In your research, you mention how little concern there is among small business owners about the possibility that AI will take away their jobs. Why do you think this is?
Only 1 in 10 small business owners believe that generative AI can do their job better than they can.
As we surveyed small businesses in spring 2023, we found: 38% In the latest survey, the number of people using generative AI jumped to 73%. This means that the number of small businesses experimenting with this technology is increasing significantly, and small business owners are curious about how they can leverage this technology to their advantage. It means that you are excited. If they are anxious or nervous about the technology, we would expect the adoption curve to be less noteworthy.
Entrepreneurs are using generative AI to support their day-to-day operations, helping them perform tasks such as drafting social media and website content, and even increasing sales (44%). This frees up more time for customer interactions and other tasks to support the business, demonstrating that generative AI is being used as an add-on rather than a replacement technology.
Fears about job loss appear to be decreasing as consumers gain a better understanding of generative AI and its capabilities and limitations. In fact, our research found that only 1 in 10 small business owners believe that generative AI can do their jobs better than they can. Companies like GoDaddy are teaching small businesses how to get the most out of technology by providing easy-to-use tools like GoDaddy Airo™ that allow small businesses to experiment with generative AI.
What will happen to the employees of these companies? Should they worry about AI replacing their roles?
Generative AI can certainly take on certain tasks that are regularly handled by small business employees, but without the fear of job losses. Our recent research shows that, on average, small business owners expect to save more than $4,000 and 300 hours of work time this year using generative AI, which is more than just employees. It is not equivalent to your salary or workload. Rather than fearing technology, employees, whether in small businesses or elsewhere, should embrace the many ways it can make their jobs easier and more efficient, and learn how to leverage technology rather than avoid it. .
Which recent events do you think are responsible for the increased adoption of AI in small and medium-sized businesses?
As with any new breakthrough technology, we often see a mixture of excitement and intrigue, along with caution and skepticism. When it comes to generative AI in particular, there is a lot of speculation surrounding what this technology can do, its limitations, and what it might be able to do in the future.
Initially, small business owners did not have the time to properly research, test, and better understand the technology. But as generative AI becomes more prevalent throughout society, we become more resistant to the idea of adopting the technology for our own uses.
Additionally, a growing number of companies are developing tools that make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to adopt generative AI. Rather than entrepreneurs being overwhelmed by the endless possibilities of new technology, these simple solutions ease adoption, further educate small businesses, and eliminate the need for entrepreneurs to be experts in generative AI. are also created to ensure high quality deliverables.
What do you think is the most interesting finding from this study?
The competitive advantage that small and medium-sized businesses expect from generative AI is the most salient and highlights how entrepreneurs view the technology. The survey found a significant increase in small and medium-sized businesses using this new tool, with 75% of entrepreneurs believing that generative AI will give them an advantage. This shows that it's not just a nice-to-have, it's a must-have. To survive.
Where can small businesses benefit most from applying AI?
There are five main areas I recommend small businesses consider:
- Administrative and operational tasks: Generative AI can help streamline data entry, generate documents, craft emails for different audiences, and assist with other time-consuming tasks.
- Content creation and marketing: We find that small business owners struggle with creating marketing content for digital use. Generative AI alleviates that pain point and delivers high-quality results. According to research data from GoDaddy, 64% of small business owners who used generated AI in their marketing efforts said the results were very good or excellent. Whether it's blog posts, social media content, or advertising campaigns tailored to your target audience, businesses can leverage generative AI to get the ball rolling.
- Enhance customer experience: AI-powered chatbots can provide real-time customer engagement, answer questions, and provide helpful product information for purchase. Alternatively, the AI Prompts Library provides a selection of generated AI prompts that you can use right away to respond to your customers.
- Data analysis: Generative AI can be used to perform predictive analytics to predict future trends and behavior, as well as analyze customer data and categorize it into categories such as preferences and demographics.
- Increase sales: Generative AI provides personalized recommendations by analyzing your data, browsing history, and purchasing patterns, as well as examining market trends, competitor pricing, and current customer behavior to optimize your pricing strategy. can.
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Do you think that applying AI to areas such as website building and content creation will reduce the quality of the output? If so, what can small businesses do to mitigate it?
Small businesses should avoid relying too heavily on AI and instead rely on technology as a support system rather than a replacement for human efforts.
As with anything created with generative AI, it's important to maintain the human touch, including editing, building, and refining the product to accurately reflect your small business's brand and style.
Certain tools, such as GoDaddy Airo™, leverage AI to generate a variety of options for entrepreneurs to choose from, allowing them to customize the final product at every step of the process. Overall, small and medium-sized businesses should avoid relying too much on his AI and rely on technology as a support system rather than a replacement for human effort.
What do you think small business owners should do to prepare to take advantage of future developments in AI?
Having a basic knowledge of the technology can help small businesses stay ahead of the curve and realize the competitive edge that generative AI can provide.
First of all, educate yourself!
Having a basic knowledge of the technology can help small businesses stay ahead of the curve and realize the competitive edge that generative AI can provide. It's no secret that national brands and enterprise-level companies have teams of AI experts working tirelessly to deploy the next best AI solutions for their customers. Therefore, it is important to stay informed and understand how these solutions can be applied to small and medium-sized businesses. We aim to grow and retain our customers.
What is GoDaddy doing to make AI more accessible to small business owners?
At GoDaddy, we're committed to creating easy-to-use tools that harness the power of generative AI for entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their small businesses.
Since the beginning of 2023, Google has released free materials like GoDaddy's AI prompt library, conducted free webinars to help educate small businesses, and developed AI-powered generative solutions.
We recently released a free tool called GoDaddy Airo™. It combines the latest advances in the field of generative AI with everything GoDaddy has learned over the past 20 years through his 21 million customers. We've always provided guidance and tools to help entrepreneurs and small business owners start and grow their businesses, but with GoDaddy Airo™, you can now use generative AI technology to You can do this in a way that is not available in .
