Practical and Safe Ways Small Businesses Can Use Generative AI

Zac Tassone

Published 10 December 2023 · Updated 22 October 2026

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini are now part of everyday work. They draft emails, summarise long documents, tidy up spreadsheets and turn meeting notes into action lists. For a small business, that can free up hours each week.

The risk is that staff start using whatever free tool they find, and paste in client details, contracts or financial records along the way. This guide covers practical ways a small or medium business can use generative AI today, and how to do it safely with your data and your privacy obligations in mind.

Practical ways to use generative AI in a small business

1. Drafting and rewriting

AI is very good at a first draft: a client email, a job ad, a policy outline or a polite reply to a complaint. It is also useful for rewriting something you have already written so it is shorter, clearer or friendlier. A person still needs to check every fact and the final tone.

2. Summarising long documents and meetings

Paste in a long report or tender (if your tool and policy allow it) and ask for the key points, deadlines and risks. In Microsoft Teams, Copilot can summarise meetings and list actions for licensed users, which saves someone writing up minutes.

3. Working with spreadsheets

Ask AI to explain a formula, build one for you or suggest how to summarise a set of figures. It is a great teacher for people who are not spreadsheet experts. Always check the results against the source data.

4. Marketing content and ideas

Social posts, newsletter outlines, website copy and product descriptions are quicker with an AI first draft. Give it your tone and facts, then edit so it sounds like your business, not like everyone else’s.

5. Customer service support

AI can help draft replies to common enquiries or build an FAQ from questions you already answer. If you put a chatbot on your website, label it clearly as AI and make it easy for customers to reach a person.

6. Internal how-to guides

Turn rough notes into step-by-step instructions for common tasks, such as onboarding a new starter or running end-of-month reports. It helps capture knowledge that otherwise lives in one person’s head.

Choose business tools, not free personal accounts

The biggest safety decision is which tool your team uses. Free consumer AI accounts may use what you type to improve their services, depending on the provider and settings. Business versions generally give you more control.

For example, when staff sign in to Microsoft Copilot Chat with their work account, Microsoft applies enterprise data protection, and prompts and responses are not used to train its foundation models. If your business already runs on Microsoft 365, that is usually the sensible place to start. Whatever tool you pick, check the provider’s data terms, where data is stored and whether you can turn off training on your content.

Protecting personal information

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has published guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products. Key points for small businesses:

• Privacy obligations apply to personal information you put into an AI tool and to what the tool produces about people.
• As a matter of best practice, the OAIC recommends not entering personal information, and particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI tools.
• Be open with customers about how you use AI, and label public-facing tools such as chatbots.
• Information AI generates about an identifiable person, even if it is wrong, can still count as personal information.

Many small businesses are exempt from the Privacy Act, but not all. Health service providers, for example, are covered regardless of size, and clients increasingly expect the same care either way.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Trusting the output without checking. AI can state wrong facts, figures and even legal references with total confidence.
• Pasting in confidential material. Client files, contracts, passwords and financial records should stay out of unapproved tools.
• Letting AI make decisions about people. Use it to assist, not to decide on hiring, credit or complaints.
• Ignoring copyright. Check that images and text you publish are yours to use.
• No rules at all. If you do not set expectations, staff will make their own.

Before rolling these uses out, put a short AI policy in place. Our guide to setting up AI rules for your staff covers what it should include.

Quick checklist

1. Pick one or two approved AI tools, ideally business versions tied to work accounts.
2. Turn on multi-factor authentication for those accounts.
3. Write a short AI use policy and share it with every staff member.
4. Keep personal and sensitive information out of public AI tools.
5. Have a person review anything AI produces before it reaches a client.
6. Review your choices every six months, because the tools change quickly.

For more ideas on saving time, read how to use AI to automate daily tasks.