5 Key Ways Small Businesses Can Effectively Leverage AI Copilots

The technology industry is mired in jargon, and sometimes we get drenched in an alphabetical soup of abbreviations. Technology has also reimagined certain common nouns like 'Cloud' and, more recently, 'Copilot.' In the past, we have always associated clouds with weather and nature, and the copilot—a second in command in a plane’s cockpit—was a term specific to the aviation industry. Not anymore. Welcome to the age of AI, where a digital copilot is completely changing the way we work.

How Did Copilot Embrace AI?

In essence, if we look at the adaptation of the copilot in the AI context, it owes its inspiration to the aviation industry and is key to humanizing AI, where one can strategically combine algorithmic intelligence with human wisdom. The logic here is the synergy between the captain of the plane and the copilot and how they operate seamlessly in flying the plane. The prefix ‘co’ owes its origin to the Latin word ‘com’- which translates into ‘together’. Apply this to an AI context, this leads to a sense of shared responsibility between the humans and the machines, blended for greater outcomes. That’s about how copilots took off in the AI world and it drives home the point AI tools cannot act optimally in isolation, but need the human in the loop.

Why Small Businesses Should Harness the Power of Copilots?

Today every business needs to uberize itself or risk becoming non-relevant. It applies to mid to small businesses as well. They need to level up their digital game, embrace emerging tech like AI, and leverage copilots to up their productivity.  They need to go beyond traditional GPTs and start integrating copilots to enable their core business processes with AI.

Embracing AI isn't just a trend; it's a strategic move that will jumpstart small businesses into a new era of efficiency and growth, enabling them to compete on a larger stage and redefine their potential in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace.

Kickstarting a  Copilot Deployment – A 5-Step Strategy

1. Automating Customer Support

• How: Start with implementing AI-driven chatbots or customer service copilots that will effectively handle FAQs, order tracking, and support requests.
• Kickstart Tip: Begin with a simple chatbot on your website or integrate with platforms like Facebook Messenger. Use pre-built templates and train them with your most common customer requests.

2. Personalize Marketing Campaigns

• How: This is where AI comes in very handy. Leverage AI to slice and dice customer data and create customized marketing narratives based on personas. Copilots are great for generating emails, social posts, and targeted offers.
• Kickstart Tip: There are tools like Mailchimp’s AI or HubSpot’s marketing automation. Automating email campaigns based on user behavior like abandoned carts or product views is a great starting point.

3. Optimizing Financial Management

• How: Do you know as a small business you can automate book-keeping, expense tracking, and cash flow forecasts?  Use financial Copilots.
• Kickstart Tip: There are cloud-based tools like QuickBooks or Xero, that help you to integrate AI features to streamline accounting and invoice management. Moreover setting up an automatic expense categorization saves time.

4. Focus on Content Creation

• How: Yes, AI Copilots can help write blogs, social media posts, product descriptions, and much more.
• Kickstart Tip: Jasper or Grammarly for creating and refining marketing copy. Start by having the copilot draft content, then refine it manually for a more authentic tone of voice as per company brand guidelines.

5. Elevate Inventory Management

• How: Inventory management is an art that lies in forecasting demand and supply. Here AI tools can forecast demand and manage stock levels by going through sales data and market trends and sharing actionable insights.
• Kickstart Tip:  Inventory management software that leverages AI-based predictions (like TradeGecko or Zoho Zakya). Start by integrating your sales and inventory data for accurate tracking to gain the right insights.

How to Get the Most Out of Copilots?

Here are some best practices that will make your copilot journey friction-free:

1. Granulate the Key Business Pain Points: Get a grip on tasks that consume more time and resources – for instance, whether it's customer service, marketing, or inventory management.
2. Select the  Right Tools: Do due diligence on AI and Copilot tools customized to your industry or business size. Begin with scalable options that offer free trials.
3. Start Small and Scale Fast: No big bang approach here, take one AI step at a time. For instance, start by automating customer service or financial tasks. Based on the outcome expand to other areas.
4. Train the AI Tools: The more relevant data you feed your AI systems, it becomes your go-to resource, with minimal hallucinations. Feed data pertaining to customer queries, financial records, or sales history—so they can improve over time.
5. Measure What Matters: Performance tracking your  copilot strategy lies in reviewing metrics like customer satisfaction, CX, time saved, or efficiency increase. Align as necessary based on feedback and results.

Copilots: A Pivot to Mainstreaming AI

We have been exposed to GPTs like OpenAI, Google’s Gemini and others over the last year, these are essentially prompt-driven and give the information you are seeking by generating content. But copilots go one step above and differ from traditional GPTs, they are assistants integrated into digital platforms to enhance productivity, and assist users in myriad activities – right from streamlining workflows to coding to giving outcomes to specific tasks.

The point here is  GPTs are general purpose, a copilot brings in specificity. These AI copilots are much more than passive tools; they actively help users navigate complex workflows. The copilots' ability to predict and suggest actions based on context is its USP. For instance, whether you are generating slides from a Word document or pulling data from Excel for a report, it demonstrates its capacity to augment human decision-making and task execution.

Market Potential and Impact

The market for AI copilots is growing rapidly, obviously, Microsoft is leading the market through its integration across devices and platforms. With over 1 million users leveraging its co-pilot features across productivity suites, businesses are experiencing efficiency gains of nearly 29%, especially in automating repetitive tasks​, according to a data point by Futurum Group.

A McKinsey observation also states that many industries are already benefiting from copilot AI, particularly in areas like HR, supply chain, and marketing.

The Future of AI Copilots

The outlook for AI copilots looks bullish. It is expected to become even more intelligent and autonomous, helping users predict and manage complex tasks. As diverse industries ramp up their investments in AI-driven solutions, the copilot concept will gain more adopters with more sophisticated integration across business functions.

Are you a mid to small business exploring the world of AI and copilot? Share with us your experience and key learnings.