Marketing is an integral part of running a small business, but developing a successful strategy can be time-consuming for business owners. Can artificial intelligence tools for marketing help?
Mehta thinks so. In August, it announced new artificial intelligence capabilities for small business owners designed to help review organic Facebook and Instagram posts and ads, measure business performance against similar brands, and provide strategic recommendations for improving marketing efforts. Individual business owners are also leveraging generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to assist with time-consuming marketing tasks such as customer development and content creation.
We asked three small business owners how they think about and implement marketing strategies in the age of artificial intelligence.
The following content has been edited for length and clarity.
How do artificial intelligence-assisted tools fit into your overall marketing strategy?
Meta released an artificial intelligence tool for small businesses in August. Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Andrea Garcia Fry, co-founder of baby and children’s clothing brand Arquia: Effective paid media requires understanding your brand positioning, tone of voice, business goals and customer journey.
I prefer using ChatGPT or Claude because I can provide more comprehensive background information and use them as thought partners. Meta’s tools would be valuable if they truly understood the business rather than simply recommending more automation or spending.
Catalina Parker, founder of coaching business Relatable Nonprofit: I’ve tried implementing the suggestions directly from Meta Ads Manager and many of them either didn’t work or weren’t right for my business. Meta benefits when advertisers spend more money on its platform.
I’d rather have a tool that helps me independently analyze data from the entire marketing ecosystem, rather than relying solely on Meta’s explanation of what I should do next.
Bonnie Gurry, CEO of climate-friendly investment platform GreenPortfolio: Tools like Meta AI can significantly save operational time. It’s like we now have a junior analyst doing quick diagnostics, spotting creative trends and producing copywriting variations in seconds. Similar tools from other ad networks have saved us hours of manual dashboard digging so we can focus on core growth strategies.
But you can’t let the platform batch jobs by itself. It’s a great aide to speed, but I wouldn’t relinquish capital allocation or brand positioning decisions to it without validating that its recommendations align with business goals.
What is the biggest challenge you face when it comes to paid marketing?
Paid marketing can quickly become expensive for small businesses, said Garcia Fry, co-founder of baby and children’s clothing brand Arquia. Provided by Related Nonprofits; Aqua; Green Portfolio
Garcia Fry: Paid marketing can get expensive quickly. Meta requires time and budget to learn who the right customers are, which means a meaningful portion of your investment may be spent on the learning process but not produce the results you expect. After that, success is not guaranteed.
Finding the right clients on Meta is difficult for us, especially with a limited budget. For Arquia, strengthening our brand foundation and organic marketing has given us better results than paid campaigns.
Parker: Understand the performance of the entire pathway. Many people look to paid advertising as a way to expand their growth. I learned the hard way that throwing more money at a lead just because it’s cheap isn’t necessarily the answer.
You have to track what happens after someone sees your ad. Do they click? Choosing a lead magnet? Engage with your content? Call to make an appointment? Final purchase?
As AI-generated content, bots, and online skepticism increase, trust becomes harder to earn. I try to combine paid acquisition with something more old-fashioned: nurturing people over time and building real relationships over time.
Gurry: Learn why advertising works. Is it the opening hook, the visuals, or just a warm pool of redirects?
Isolating these creative variables and figuring out what truly drives performance, without burning capital, is a constant balancing act.
What are the tools or strategies that have helped you succeed?
Parker uses Instagram to promote her coaching business, Relatable Nonprofit. Courtesy of McKesson Media
Garcia Fry: When I run meta ads, I start organically. If a piece of content resonates with our audience, I might enhance it or adapt it into a paid campaign.
I also use ChatGPT or Claude to review settings, interpret data, and identify possible tests, but I still make the final decision.
Parker: I learned not to assume that every suggestion from an expert would be right for my business. Testing becomes more valuable: Understand which numbers matter, track them consistently, test changes, and use the results to decide what to do next.
One of my best performing campaigns has been running for over two years with almost no changes. This is a simple text-based ad, nothing fancy. It continues to perform despite many suggestions for the constant production of new formats.
Gurry: We don’t need fancy, overly complicated tools. The goal is to get a clear, back-to-basics understanding of which ads lead to real customers over time.
If you’re not careful, quick clicks can drain your marketing budget with little return on investment. Clicks are great, but not if they don’t reach your potential customers.
And don’t outsource your strategy to artificial intelligence tools, especially ones developed by the network selling you ads.