The AI Toolkit for Real Business Owners
You don’t need a tech background or a big budget to start benefiting from AI tools. The landscape has matured rapidly, and there are now genuinely useful tools available — many with free tiers — that can save small business owners significant time every week.
Here are 10 that are worth knowing about, across a range of business functions.
1. ChatGPT (OpenAI)
What it does: The most versatile AI tool available. Useful for writing, editing, summarising, brainstorming, drafting emails, creating templates, answering questions, and much more.
Best for: General-purpose business tasks. If you only use one AI tool, make it this one.
Practical use: Draft a quote follow-up email. Summarise a long document. Write a job ad. Generate 10 social media caption ideas. Prepare for a tricky client conversation.
2. Claude (Anthropic)
What it does: A powerful writing and reasoning AI, often praised for producing more natural, nuanced text than competitors.
Best for: Long-form writing, detailed analysis, and tasks requiring careful reasoning or nuance.
Practical use: Write a detailed proposal, create staff training materials, or summarise complex documents.
3. Perplexity
What it does: An AI-powered search tool that gives direct, sourced answers to questions — combining the best of Google and ChatGPT.
Best for: Research, fact-checking, competitive intelligence, and staying current on industry trends.
Practical use: “What are the latest changes to small business tax in Australia?” and get a cited, current answer.
4. Canva AI
What it does: Canva’s platform now includes AI-powered design tools — including text-to-image generation, AI-assisted layout suggestions, and automatic background removal.
Best for: Creating professional-looking marketing materials, social media graphics, and presentations without a graphic designer.
Practical use: Create a branded social post, a service brochure, or a pitch deck in minutes.
5. Otter.ai
What it does: Transcribes meetings and voice conversations automatically, creating searchable records and summaries.
Best for: Service businesses, consultants, and anyone who spends time in client meetings or on calls.
Practical use: Record your next client consultation and generate a written summary you can reference or share.
6. Notion AI
What it does: Adds AI writing and summarisation capabilities to Notion’s already-powerful workspace and project management tool.
Best for: Teams and businesses that use documents, wikis, and project tracking.
Practical use: Write a standard operating procedure, generate a project brief, or summarise meeting notes automatically.
7. Zapier (with AI features)
What it does: Connects different software tools and automates workflows between them — and now includes AI-powered automation builders that don’t require coding.
Best for: Eliminating repetitive manual tasks that involve moving information between platforms.
Practical use: Automatically send a follow-up email when a new enquiry arrives. Add new bookings to a spreadsheet. Post a social update when you publish a new blog.
8. Google Gemini
What it does: Google’s AI assistant, integrated across Google Workspace (Docs, Gmail, Sheets, Meet).
Best for: Businesses already using Google Workspace — it works directly within the tools you already use.
Practical use: Summarise a long email thread, generate a first draft of a Google Doc, or create a formula in Google Sheets from a plain-language description.
9. Tidio or Intercom (AI chat)
What it does: AI-powered chat tools that can handle common customer questions automatically, 24/7, on your website.
Best for: E-commerce businesses, service businesses with frequently asked questions, and anyone who wants to respond to enquiries outside business hours.
Practical use: Set up an AI chatbot that answers “what are your prices?”, “do you service my area?”, and “how do I book?” automatically — and escalates to a human when needed.
10. Surfer SEO or Frase
What it does: AI-assisted content tools that help you write SEO-optimised content by analysing what’s ranking and suggesting what your page needs to compete.
Best for: Businesses investing in content marketing who want their articles to have the best chance of ranking.
Practical use: Write a blog post or service page with real-time guidance on what topics, headings, and keywords to include based on what Google currently ranks for that topic.
The Key: Use Tools That Match Your Actual Needs
The temptation is to sign up for every shiny new AI tool. The smarter move is to identify your two or three biggest time drains and find AI tools that specifically address them. Start there, build the habit, then expand.
At West Legacy Group, we help Australian businesses identify which AI tools will actually move the needle for their specific situation — and set them up properly.
Book an AI tools consultation with West Legacy Group today.