SBA — AI for Small Business (Official Guide)

TL;DR

• Identify needs, evaluate tools, train teams, manage risk.
• Focus on measurable use cases and customer benefit.
• Start small and scale what works.

Highlights

• Official SBA guidance emphasizes practical, responsible adoption for small businesses.
• Key themes: start with customer‑benefiting use cases, build basic governance, and train the team.
• Measurement is non‑negotiable: define KPIs and review them regularly.
• Encourage small pilots, clear owners, and privacy practices so teams move fast safely.

Case study anecdote

A neighborhood clinic adopted AI to draft appointment reminders and summarize intake notes. With a simple QA checklist and staff training, the team cut paperwork time and focused more on patient care.

Guidance for SMBs

• Define the use case: Pick one workflow with clear value (content drafts, FAQ replies, or weekly reporting). Baseline cycle time, error rate, and customer response metrics.
• Governance basics: Document prompts, create a QA checklist, and assign owners. Store SOPs in a shared folder and keep versions.
• Risk management: Review data access and permissions. Avoid pasting sensitive information into tools not designed for it.
• Training: Host short “prompt practice” sessions to align tone and accuracy. Encourage peer reviews for the first month.
• Publish a simple KPI dashboard (time saved, first‑response, conversion) and review it weekly to decide what to scale next.

Lessons & metrics

• Cycle‑time reduction should be noticeable within 2–4 weeks; track time saved per week.
• Quality metrics (reply accuracy, customer satisfaction) should improve as prompts mature.
• Use a simple scorecard (time, conversion, retention) to decide what to scale next.
• Assign owners and backups; document changes so improvements persist beyond individuals.

Learn more

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