7 ways entrepreneurs are using AI in 2025

New businesses in 2025 are facing an onslaught of challenges. From rising interest rates to the emergence of zero-click searches, there are a lot of potential obstacles if this is your first time starting a business.

While AI can seem like an ominous topic, the silver lining is that there are now an ever-growing number of tools and opportunities for small business owners to make their work lives easier using machine learning.

In fact, now over one in four (28%) small business owners in the UK have used AI tools to run their business. It’s looking more and more likely that AI will be a necessity for business owners, so we’ve compiled this list of examples to help you understand how artificial intelligence can help your business.

1. Personalising the experience

One of the most effective ways business owners use AI is to curate a more personalised customer experience. AI can analyse your customer data (e.g., purchase history) and then recommend ideas for personalised gifts, rewards, or target them with time-sensitive promotions.

A personalised experience is one of the most effective strategies for customer retention. For example, personal style service Style DNA used AI through preference learning and image recognition software to suggest outfits to users based on their uploaded photos.

2. Making data analysis more sophisticated

As detailed in a blog from HubSpot, one of the key ways AI is changing the landscape for entrepreneurs is through highly sophisticated data analysis. By using tools like Domo, you can have your business data analysed and be given personalised predictions, such as a forecast of returning customers.

Complex data analysis was previously beyond the reach and capabilities of resource-strapped startups. Now, business owners can use platforms like ChatGPT to translate complex data into more digestible language and analyse datasets. They can also use a tool like Microsoft Power BI, which integrates with Excel, and visualise any form of data.

3. Enhancing customer support

Good customer service has long been a building block of a successful enterprise. AI customer service chatbots have grown in usage over the past few years. For example, the hotel chain Marriott has been using AI chatbots to offer its guests support around frequently asked questions and guidance for checking in.

Marriott might be an international mega-chain, but micro-businesses can use platforms like Zapier or boost.ai to set up their own chatbots and give customers 24/7 support even with a skeleton staff.

Agentic AI is being used more frequently by entrepreneurs, and with a top CRM platform like Zendesk, you can streamline your workflow and have AI agents reduce your workload by independently solving customer issues.

4. Automating tasks

Entrepreneurs are often time-poor. A solution to this issue is automating with AI. For example, a cleaning company uses Zapier and ChatGPT to respond to Google reviews, drafting and posting automatically.

If you’re a small business owner who needs to win back some time in the day, you can use tools like Monday or Motion to schedule appointments and automate your workflow. You can also use AI-powered accounting software, like Sage’s AI assistant, to automate tasks like risk analysis and predictive cash flow management. 

5. Building professional-looking websites

You no longer need to be a web designer to have a professional-looking website. You can use website builder AI-chatbots to create a business site in under an hour.

Once you have your site up and running, you can use AI to pull information from your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system into your website to help with processes, such as out-of-stock alerts and inventory tracking. You can also automate price tracking for seasonal changes.

For online sellers, website builders like Wix or Shopify now offer a host of AI-powered tools to help boost online sales and enhance your marketing strategy. For example, Rachel Bambrough, owner of SUP4 and Cove Lifestyle Studios, used GoDaddy Airo to reach a new audience for her business.

6. Polishing content

AI can help refine and polish content. Half of SMEs are now turning to ChatGPT for business advice and using it as a sounding board.

AI can generate outlines and guideposts for you to work from. You can then flesh out the details and personal touches yourself. This also extends to ideas for social media posts, creating pitch ideas, writing job specs, or external emails to clients.

You can also create visual content with AI. To give an example, at this year’s Google I/O, Google claimed that they used their Imagen model for 48% of the visuals, while 80% of the videos were either Veo or Imagen models.

7. Preventing food waste

It might sound unusual, but Google has been using data from AI-driven insights to prevent food waste in its on-site cafes. As a result, they claim to have reduced food waste (per Google employee) by approximately 39% in 2024 when compared to 2019.

Of course the tech-monolith is about as far away from a scrappy startup as you can get, but the same basic lesson can be applied to a small business. Those working in hospitality can use AI tools to refine their menus and reduce their overall food waste, saving money and the planet –  a win-win, while keeping food out the bin.

In conclusion

Now you know how entrepreneurs are using artificial intelligence to their advantage in 2025, like the founder in Ireland who claimed that AI had helped her expand into 16 countries from her farm in Donegal.

But as our own Startups Daddy contributor Varun Bhanot has said, “AI can help you build quicker, but it will not help you build better unless you are asking the right questions. Why this problem? Why at this time? Why do you possess the talent to figure it out?” Essentially, make sure you’re not just using AI for AI’s sake.