The AI Toolkit for
Small Businesses
30 tools
2026
✦ Writing & Chat
ChatGPT
Free · Plus $20/mo
The original AI assistant. Good for everything from emails to brainstorming. Most people start here.
Claude
Free · Pro $20/mo
Best for long documents and nuanced writing. Huge context window. Less generic output.
Gemini
Free · Pro £15/mo
Google's AI. Tied into Search, Docs, and Gmail. Good if you live in Google Workspace.
Perplexity
Free · Pro $20/mo
AI-powered research with real citations. Think of it as a smarter search engine that cites its sources.
Jasper
From $49/mo
Marketing copy specialist. Brand voice, campaigns, blog posts. Overkill for solopreneurs.
Grammarly
Free · Premium £12/mo
Not just grammar — AI tone detection, rewriting, and clarity suggestions. Works everywhere you type.
🎨 Design & Visuals
Canva
Free · Pro £10/mo
Design for non-designers. AI-powered templates, image generation, brand kits. Essential for social media.
DALL·E
$20/mo (via ChatGPT Plus)
Generate images from text. Integrated into ChatGPT. Good for mock-ups and social graphics.
Midjourney
From $10/mo
Best AI image quality. Stunning visuals, but requires Discord. Worth it for brand imagery.
Descript
Free · Hobbyist $24/mo
Edit video like a document. AI transcription, filler word removal, screen recording. Saves hours.
🔍 SEO & Content
NeuronWriter
From $23/mo
SEO content optimisation with AI scoring. Cheaper alternative to SurferSEO. Good for small teams.
SurferSEO
From $89/mo
Industry standard for content SEO. AI writer, SERP analysis, content scoring. Pricey but powerful.
AnswerThePublic
Free · Pro £19/mo
See what questions people ask Google. Essential for blog topics and FAQ pages.
Copy.ai
Free · Pro $49/mo
Quick marketing copy. Product descriptions, ads, social posts. Easier than Jasper for one-off tasks.
⚡ Automation & Workflow
Zapier
Free · From $20/mo
Connect 7,000+ apps. "When this happens, do that." Most popular automation tool for non-technical users.
Make
Free · From $9/mo
Visual automation builder. More flexible than Zapier, cheaper at scale. Steeper learning curve.
Notion AI
£9/mo (add-on)
AI inside your workspace. Summarise, draft, brainstorm within Notion. Great if you already use it.
Microsoft Copilot
£19/mo (M365 add-on)
AI inside Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams. If you're on Microsoft 365, this is a no-brainer upgrade.
📞 Meetings & Notes
Otter.ai
Free · Pro $8/mo
Meeting transcription and summaries. Records, transcribes, and extracts action items automatically.
Fireflies
Free · Pro $10/mo
Records meetings, transcribes, and lets you search by keyword. Integrates with Zoom, Teams, Meet.
Fathom
Free · Team from £19/mo
Free unlimited transcription with AI summaries. Best free tier of the meeting recorders.
Granola
Free · Pro $12/mo
AI meeting notes that actually capture what matters. Newer player, very clean UX.
💰 Finance & CRM
Xero
From £15/mo
Cloud accounting with AI bank reconciliation and invoice extraction. Most popular with UK small businesses.
HubSpot CRM
Free · Starter £15/mo
Free CRM with AI contact insights, email tracking, and deal pipelines. Grows with you.
Intercom
From $29/mo
AI customer support (Fin) that resolves 50%+ of queries automatically. Built-in helpdesk.
Mailchimp
Free · Essentials £10/mo
Email marketing with AI subject lines, send time optimisation, and audience segmentation.
🛡️ Specialised
CapCut
Free · Pro £8/mo
AI video editing. Auto-captions, background removal, templates. Huge for short-form content.
ElevenLabs
Free · From $5/mo
AI voice generation and cloning. Natural voiceovers, audiobooks, IVR messages.
Bolt.new
Free · From $20/mo
Build working websites from a prompt. No coding needed. Great for quick landing pages and prototypes.
NotebookLM
Free
Upload documents and get AI summaries, podcasts, and study guides. Surprisingly useful for research.
Prices correct as of April 2026. Most tools offer free tiers — start there. You don't need all 30. Pick 2-3 that solve your biggest time drain and start there.