AI for Small Business.

THE PRACTICAL PLANNER

Choose your first small-business AI project

Turn your priorities into a concrete starting point and a downloadable planning brief. Compare the route, define a first task and test it with sample inputs.

Reviewed 2026-11-12
Where is most of your work centered?

Your choices stay in this page. No account, submission or AI call is required. The priority determines the suggested route; the other answers are included in your brief.

YOUR NEXT STEP

A route you can evaluate.

Choose a priority to create your brief. All possible routes are listed below.

Custom apps, agent work and hosting

Portacode

Build around one connected operating process.

  1. Choose one customer journey
  2. Name the system of record
  3. Connect the required surfaces
  4. Assign an operator
Explore Portacode
A suite of ready-made business modules

Zoho One

Compare the packaged applications against your current requirements.

  1. List must-have modules
  2. Map cross-app handoffs
  3. Test a business journey
  4. Plan data migration

Compare this option’s current features and terms against the brief. Product names are provided for your own research.

Documents and team knowledge

Notion

Make the information structure usable before adding more automation.

  1. Assign source owners
  2. Organize knowledge
  3. Define update routines
  4. Check access boundaries

Compare this option’s current features and terms against the brief. Product names are provided for your own research.

Shared records and custom views

Airtable

Start with a coherent data model and views for each role.

  1. Define entities
  2. Connect records
  3. Build interfaces
  4. Check cross-team access

Compare this option’s current features and terms against the brief. Product names are provided for your own research.

These are editorial starting points, not a product eligibility check or a configured workflow. See how recommendations work.

Field note / 01

How to use AI in a small business: choose the first job

Find a useful starting point for small-business AI by mapping customer work, shared information and repeated manual steps.

Read the practical guide Field note / 02

Your first small-business AI pilot: a practical checklist

Test one AI-assisted business task with sample data, a baseline, clear ownership and realistic operating costs.

Read the practical guide