Small Business, Big AI: How SMBs Are Leveling the Playing Field With Enterprise Giants

When Alex Schlesinger, founder and CEO of insurance firm Active Mutual, faced the tough reality of training sales agents without the budgets or trainers big firms could afford, he turned to something unexpected: an AI chatbot.

“Our small business had been struggling for a while to give our agents the kind of in-depth training bigger companies can afford,” Schlesinger told PYMNTS. “But that changed this year when we started using Gemini to roleplay tough conversations.”

Instead of hiring expensive coaches or having sales agents attend lengthy workshops, Schlesinger said his company used Gemini to simulate conversations so agents could rehearse responses in a realistic setting.

The outcome? “It prepares my agents better and faster than any sales course,” Schlesinger said. “They actually find the practice sessions incredibly helpful and build real skills.”

While sales didn’t suddenly jump by 50%, Schlesinger noticed something more valuable. “That new level of confidence and the positive client interactions that result are a huge ‘bonus’ for our whole team.”

For Schlesinger, Gemini became the in-house trainer his team never had, leveling the playing field between his firm and much larger competitors.

Schlesinger’s story isn’t unique. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the country are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to compete against large enterprises.

By automating processes, augmenting talent, and accelerating decision-making, AI enables smaller firms to bypass legacy systems and leap directly into an AI-first business model — one that can rival what large incumbents offer.

New data from Verizon Business’ 2025 State of Small Business Survey showed that 38% of SMBs are integrating AI into operations. Over a quarter (28%) are deploying AI for marketing and social media, while 24% use it for written communications. Nearly a quarter use it to power digital personal assistants that can help with customer service. Other uses include cybersecurity and hiring and retention of workers.

“Small business owners are entering a new chapter of digital business with the rise of AI,” said Aparna Khurjekar, chief revenue officer, business markets and SaaS at Verizon Business, in a statement.

Staying competitive is an imperative for smaller companies, especially in uncertain economic times. According to a May 2025 PYMNTS Intelligence report, half of SMBs must rely on funds they get from day-to-day sales or from the bank just to survive.

“This highlights the precarious financial position of a significant portion of the SMB landscape, leaving them vulnerable to fluctuations in revenue caused by a shifting business environment,” the report said. Particularly dependent are hotels, restaurants and entertainment businesses.

Read more: How Retail Small Businesses Finance Survival in Uncertain Times

Competing on Smarts, Not Scale

The adage “work smarter, not harder” applies to SMBs and AI.

“Smaller businesses can’t compete with bigger businesses on scale — so they need to compete on smarts,” said Mary Kay Bowman, executive vice president and general manager of payments and financial services at software provider BILL.

“The smartest thing small businesses can do is use AI to unlock top-tier finance expertise and tools that were only ever available to enterprise companies.”

Bowman told PYMNTS that the best AI tools for SMBs aren’t flashy tech add-ons but are built with small business needs in mind. “Silicon Valley needs to be delivering AI that actually delivers tangible outcomes that small businesses need: saving time, improving accuracy, and freeing up bandwidth to focus on growth.”

Jackie Sinclair, a consultant who works with SMBs, agreed. “Let’s face it – running a small business often means doing everything yourself. But AI is flipping that script,” she said. “It’s giving small business owners the power to operate like they’ve got a full team behind them, minus the overhead.”

Kevin Green, chief marketing officer at Hapax, added that smaller businesses have the opportunity to “leapfrog” larger institutions by using customized, industry-specific solutions and focusing on operational and process improvements that are critical to success.

“There is so much innovation happening around AI with big tech pumping out new features every week,” Green told PYMNTS. “We are shown countless examples of tactical use cases that are impressive, but often don’t integrate elegantly into how we do business.”

One example of customization comes from LegalZoom. CEO Jeff Stibel told PYMNTS that his company’s partnership with Perplexity gives small businesses direct access to their legal tools inside AI-powered search.

“This first-of-its-kind collaboration reflects how small businesses are increasingly turning to AI not just for efficiency but for confidence as well,” Stibel said. “While AI cannot replace legal advice, it can be the first step from which we at LegalZoom can then complete the process.”

Customer service is another area of disruption. Robin Westerling, CEO of Longvadon, said AI agents from Salesforce’s AgentForce let them mitigate and resolve customer issues and enabled the company to shrink from three to one customer support staff while maintaining quality service.

For SMB leaders unsure where to begin, Schlesinger advised them to “explore how AI tools might help you fill gaps where you don’t have big-company resources. … This can help you offer truly top-notch service that makes your customers feel understood and valued, just like the bigger players do.”

What Businesses Are Using

Here are some tools SMBs are using, according to Sinclair:

Marketing: Tools like ChatGPT, Jasper and Copy.ai help SMBs write captions, blogs and emails faster and smarter.

Design: Canva’s Magic Studio, Runway and Lumen5 let business owners create professional graphics and videos without a designer.

Accounting and finance: QuickBooks AI, WaveApps, and Xero simplify bookkeeping and forecasting.

Admin and legal: DoNotPay and Spellbook help draft contracts and other legal documents and answer FAQs.

Operations: Notion AI, GoHighLevel and ClickUp Brain automate workflows so businesses don’t lose track when things get busy.

Read more: Brewing Storm: Why 1 in 5 Smaller Businesses Without Financing Fear They May Not Survive Tariffs

Read more: The Urban-Rural Economic Divide: How Location Affects SMBs’ Outlook

Read more: The Customer Is Always Right: How SMBs Can Attract and Keep Customers