How Canadian Small Businesses Can Use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Increase Sales and Revenue

Everybody has tried or is actively using artificial intelligence (AI) tools for a multitude of reasons – customers searching for products and information, business owners to enhance their communications and internal processes – all in an effort to save time and money.

According to a recent report by Metropolitan Toronto University (TMU), AI adoption among Canadian small businesses ranges from 12% to 71%, highlighting both rapid growth and widespread uncertainty.

The spread in adoption rates may reflect that business owners are unsure how to use AI to become more competitive or worry about the liability risks it may pose, despite the possible benefits the technology offers.

So how can small business owners and independent professionals use AI to grow their bottom lines? Using AI effectively can help attract more customers, drive sales, and strengthen customer service. However, just as the dawn of the internet dramatically changed how businesses operate, we’re on the cusp of understanding how AI is revolutionizing how people can use it to achieve their goals.

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This guide aims to highlight practical, affordable ways small businesses, sole proprietors, retail and e-commerce companies, online sellers, and professional services consultants can use AI to boost sales and marketing.

What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Small Business Owners in Canada?

According to the federal government, defining AI is challenging, and there is no single accepted definition. But we can say that AI is capable of doing things usually associated with human cognition.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines AI as “the capability of computer systems or algorithms to imitate intelligent human behaviour”.

Although AI might seem like it’s new, groundbreaking technology, it has actually been around for decades and is used for many different purposes you’ve been using for years, such as:

• Voice assistants like Siri and Alexa
• For navigation through tools, like Google Maps
• For cybersecurity purposes like fraud detection or facial recognition
• As recommendation engines on platforms like Netflix and Spotify

The terms AI, automation, and software are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same.

Traditional software operates on a set of fixed rules and does exactly what you tell it to do. Software doesn’t learn or adapt over time. It can only be updated.

Automation is when software, based on fixed rules, executes specific tasks automatically to increase efficiency, such as sending an invoice to a customer via automated email or calendar appointment reminders that pop up on your phone.

AI, however, goes well beyond all of that. It analyzes data, recognizes trends or patterns, and supports human decision-making. AI doesn’t replace software or automation (or human beings), but it can enhance their performance.

How Are Small Businesses in Canada Already Using AI?

In your small business, you are already using AI every day, it’s just not called that. Think about it. Whether you’re a sole proprietor or a business owner with employees, chances are you’re doing some or all of the following:

• Email and social media platforms that suggest the best times to send emails or make posts on social networks
• Software that provides inventory tracking and sales demand forecasting
• AI-assisted writing tools for emails and business proposals, such as ChatGPT
• Advertising platforms that automatically optimize who you’re targeting to sell to

Given that most small businesses don’t have large teams and are often one- or two-person strong and have limited budgets, AI tools can help deliver results quickly to support your business goals and employees. It can give your business the competitive edge it needs to grow.

5 Steps to Get Started With AI in Your Small Business

You don’t need a massive budget, a complete system overhaul, or specialized technical knowledge to introduce AI into your business operations. 

It just takes focus, critical thinking, and the ability to identify where and how you can benefit from its use. Here are five simple, cost-effective steps you can use to get started:

1. Identify One Sales Challenge or Bottleneck

Don’t try to insert AI into everything all at once. Start small. Pick one sales-related challenge you face, such as when sales typically slow down at a certain time of year. 

What’s the issue there? Not enough quality leads? Spending too much time answering repetitive customer inquiries? When a task is time-consuming and repetitive, it’s usually a good candidate for AI. Identifying the challenge might take half an hour out of your day and cost nothing.

2. Pick an AI Tool to Help

You’ve identified a problem or challenge your business faces, now pick one AI tool that’s specifically designed to solve it.

Maybe that’s an AI writing tool for emails and marketing content, or an AI analytics tool to get better sales insights. But focus on tools that can easily integrate with the systems you already use, such as email or your customer relationship management (CRM) software.

You can opt for free versions of your chosen AI tool or pay a monthly subscription that might be between $30 and $50 a month. It’ll probably take you a couple of hours to research which tool is best and set it up accordingly.

3. Let the Testing Begin!

Now it’s time to test the AI tool you’ve set up in a limited, low-risk way. Your goal here is to learn, experiment, and try to see what works, not absolute perfection.

Here are a few ideas:

• Try using an AI tool to draft your social media posts for one month or quarter (many social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite include this functionality)
• Script automated email follow-ups for customer inquiries or campaigns
• Test an AI chatbot on one of your webpages, such as ZenDesk or Copilot

If you’re not ready to subscribe or purchase a specific tool, take advantage of the free trial periods available in them to conduct your experiments. You might spend a couple of hours a week running your tests.

4. Measure the Results to See If It’s Working

After the trial period to test the tool you chose is over, take a close look at the results to see if it’s actually working.

Ask yourself how much time you saved, check whether conversion rates have improved, and whether engagement metrics are better (clicks, inquiries, email opens), or solicit customer feedback.

If you’re seeing even small or moderate improvements to sales or time savings, then it’s definitely working. Measuring these results might take half an hour each week and costs nil.

5. Expand What You’re Doing Gradually

Assuming you’re seeing some benefits from your test, try expanding on what you’ve done to other areas of your operations carefully, slowly, and intentionally.

For example, apply the same AI tool to other things you do and test and monitor its results. Or maybe add another AI tool to the mix to tackle another challenge your business faces.

Cost may become a factor at this stage, depending on what you choose to do and which tool you use. But in terms of the amount of time you need to commit to get it all going, it shouldn’t take too long, as you’re now becoming familiar with how to set it up and execute.

What Small Businesses in Canada Should Expect from Testing AI Tools

In general, our expectations are usually high when we try new things to improve how our businesses operate and perform. But don’t expect huge returns from the get-go. This is about making progress in incremental steps, not scoring big wins off the hop.

Understand that using AI will likely help your business save time before it starts driving revenue, and, over time, your results should improve with continued use and a few modifications as you go. But you ought to start seeing its value in a few weeks or a couple of months.

Remember: AI is essentially a support tool, not a replacement for your employees or your critical thinking and experience. So, setting practical expectations is imperative.

As AI adoption grows, understanding risk is part of responsible business growth – especially for small businesses using new technology.

Our free downloadable guide, ‘The Small Business Artificial Intelligence (AI) Handbook’, provides additional guidance on using AI safely.

Frequently Asked Questions About AI for Small Businesses in Canada

• How can a small business in Canada use AI to increase sales?
  Small businesses can use AI to attract more leads, customers, and increase sales. Common uses include AI-generated marketing content, automated email follow-ups, personalized offers, customer chatbots, and sales analytics.

• Do I need technical skills to implement and use AI in my small business?
  No. Most AI tools are built for non-technical users. They work through simple dashboards, templates, or integrations with tools you already use, such as email, websites, or CRMs. Small business owners do not need coding or IT expertise. AI tools are built to be easy to set up and use.

• Is it safe for Canadian small businesses to use AI with customer data?
  Yes, provided AI tools are used responsibly. Small businesses should limit the types of customer data they share, follow Canadian privacy best practices, and ensure their business insurance policies are customized to address liability risks arising from their use.

AI Tools Come With Liability Risks: How Business Insurance Helps

Every small business, whether or not it uses AI tools, needs a customized business insurance policy to cover potential losses and damages.

If your operations include AI, or if your business is beginning to use it, consider adding optional intellectual property and professional liability insurance and cyber liability insurance to your overall policy to protect you from claims alleging copyright infringement or arising from incorrect AI-generated information that causes physical or financial harm to customers.

Complete our online application in under five minutes for a free insurance quote.

Let our knowledgeable brokers find a low-cost policy to protect your company from one of more than 50 insurers, and address the concerns you have about using AI for your small business.

– Reviewed by Brandon Bowie, Senior Broker and Team Lead, Professional Lines, Zensurance.