Most small businesses don’t need “AI”. They need fewer hours spent on the same admin every week. A dedicated AI agent is a piece of software built for one job in your business, using your own information and working inside the tools you already use. (New to the idea? Start with what an AI agent is.)
Here are ten jobs we see agents handle well.
1. Answering common customer questions
Opening hours, prices, delivery times, “where is my order?”. An agent trained on your own information can answer these by email or website chat, around the clock.
2. Drafting quotes
From an enquiry and your price list, an agent can draft a quote for a person to check and send.
3. Following up open quotes
Quotes that go unanswered are lost jobs. An agent can send friendly follow-ups at the right time and update your CRM.
4. Reading supplier bills
An agent can read bills as they arrive, code them in Xero the way you do, and flag anything unusual. (Accountants: see Xero integrations every accounting practice should know.)
5. Sorting the inbox
Requests can be sorted, labelled and routed to the right person, with simple replies drafted.
6. Booking appointments
An agent can offer available times and book them straight into your calendar.
7. Summarising documents
Contracts, leases and applications can be summarised in plain English, with the key details pulled out.
8. Weekly reporting
Numbers from your store, accounts and stock can be pulled together into a short Monday summary.
9. Answering staff questions
Staff can ask questions of your policies and procedures, and get an answer with a link to the source.
10. Processing returns
Return requests can be checked against your policy, with labels sent and refunds flagged for approval.
Keep a person in charge
The agents that work best are the ones with clear limits. Anything important, such as sending money or changing a price, should wait for a person to approve it, and every step should be recorded.
Not every task needs AI. Many can be handled with simple automation; see 8 business processes to automate first.
Thinking about an AI agent for your business? See our dedicated AI agents or book a free scoping call and tell us where the time goes.
