(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Let’s Recap:
- OpenAI releases a small business program for ChatGPT
- Excel and AI gets tighter
- Intuit launches a business card
- Claude can learn workflows by watching your screen
- Your website needs a re-design for agents
There’s Now A ChatGPT for Small Business Program
This week OpenAI launched its new program ChatGPT for Small Business designed to help entrepreneurs and small businesses adopt AI more effectively. The announcement comes on the heels of ChatGPT Work — an agent that helps complete projects and multi-step tasks. With the small business program, OpenAI is focused on elevating small business owners’ technological proficiency by offering educational resources, live training events, and practical guidance to help small businesses automate work, improve productivity, and expand using AI. The goal is to make AI accessible and practical for everyday business operations — and demonstrates OpenAI’s intentions to make small businesses a priority. “We believe AI can be a force multiplier that extends individual expertise … and gives everyone access to world class tools they need to achieve their greatest ambitions,” the company said. (Source: OpenAI)
Why this is important for your small business:
Earlier this year Anthropic also introduced a program reaching out to the 34 million small businesses who are asking for help using AI. Many of my clients and small business owners ask about where they can get training and how they can best leverage AI in their business. Hiring a consultant, watching YouTube videos and trial-and-error have been the main strategies I’ve seen. But now that the big AI players are rolling out more resources they’re both worth looking at.
Excel And AI to Get ‘Tighter and Tighter.’ Here’s What That Means
Business software is becoming more AI-driven as reported by Mark Hachman of PCWorld. Microsoft Excel is being positioned as an AI-powered business reasoning platform, according to a recent X post by Excel Vice President Brian Jones. In his post, Jones responded to a question about “Excel’s long-term relationship with AI.” Jones stated the vision is for Excel to become a reasoning platform, answering user questions in plain language instead of requiring them to master formulas, pivot tables, or advanced modeling techniques. Copilot is taking more of a leading role in analyzing data, testing scenarios, and making business decisions. For example, Copilot will increasingly let users ask, “Why did sales decline last month?” Or “Show me the biggest cost-savings opportunities.” Jones also acknowledged that sometimes users get stuck on complicated analysis or they don’t know how to use all of the tools. “Our view is Copilot will make it easier for you to use Excel, so more people will be able to get to these conclusions,” he said. (Source: PCWorld)
Why this is important for your small business:
Both Microsoft and Google have been quietly enhancing their Copilot and Gemini capabilities in their Office and Workspace platforms and both are worth taking a closer look. AI in spreadsheets, for example, is being seriously under-used by most of my clients. Case in point: instead of formatting a column and playing around with settings you can just tell your AI assistant to do it for you. And it works well!
Intuit Launches Business Credit Card That Brings Spend Management, Rewards, and Insights Together in QuickBooks
Intuit has launched the Intuit Business Credit Card — a “World Elite Business Mastercard” that’s integrated with QuickBooks — giving small businesses real-time visibility into spending, cash flow, and expenses. Purchases will automatically appear in QuickBooks, eliminating manual expense entry. The card combines payment capabilities with financial management tools, helping business owners to track employee expenses, track and organize receipts and categorize expenses. According to the company, they launched a business credit card because business owners sometimes experience low cash flow visibility and deal with time-consuming bookkeeping. David Hahn, Intuit’s EVP and General Manager stated, “The [card] gives businesses something they have never had before: a single, connected solution for spending, cash flow, and credit that is built around how their business actually performs.” (Source: Intuit)
Why this is important for your small business:
This is good. Also worth considering is X’s new business card and bank account offering which offers a 6% interest rate (yes, 6%!) and a 3% cashback on purchases. Intuit’s credit card is more seamlessly integrated with QuickBooks, so the value of each should be considered.
Claude Can Now Learn Your Workflows by Watching Your Screen
Claude users can now teach it repetitive workflows simply by demonstrating it on their computer screen. Anthropic has introduced the new “Record a Skill” feature for Claude Cowork — a sort of show and tell for Claude when a specific task is done. How it works: Users start a screen recording, complete a workflow, and narrate their reasoning. Claude records the screen and listens to spoken explanations. Claude then converts that demonstration into a reusable “Skill” it can execute in the future. Rather than writing long prompts, users can show Claude how they work on tasks like weekly reports, data entry, or customer onboarding. The tasks are recorded and stored in Claude’s memory. Anthropic recommends using it for workflows that follow predictable steps. Tasks requiring frequent judgment calls or that change significantly each time are less suitable. (Source: PCMag)
Why this is important for your small business:
This is an amazing productivity enhancement. Rather than trying to explain what you want to Claude, just let it watch you. Your employees should get to know this.
Your Website Was Built for Humans. Now It Needs to Work for AI Agents
If you own a business website, heads-up — changes are on the horizon. This week I wrote about the agentic web era we’re now entering. Web traffic is composed of an increasing number of AI agents. Instead of a human browsing multiple sites an AI assistant (on behalf of the human) is researching products, comparing vendors, scheduling appointments, and completing purchases automatically. This is where you — the website owner — comes in. Your website will need to accommodate these AI agents. Your site will need to provide information in ways that AI agents can easily interpret and act upon. Some may even need to be redesigned from scratch. AI agents are likely to favor websites with information that’s consistent, current, and easy to verify. Take heed: within five years, your website’s most important visitor won’t be a person. It’ll be an AI agent. (Source: Forbes)
Why this is important for your small business:
This is a pretty big deal. Few websites, and even fewer small business websites, are prepared for the agentic web. And if your website isn’t ready web traffic will pass you by. I’m literally upgrading my websites as we write this and I expect more to come. Talk to your web designer and make this a priority before the end of the year.
Note: Have a technology story that small business owners should know about? Don’t mind me sharing my opinion? Share it with me on X @genemarks.
