Small business owners are quickly embracing artificial intelligence—and according to a new Salesforce report, the shift is paying off.

The report, Practical AI for SMBs, outlines how small businesses are using AI to supercharge customer relationships, save time, and increase revenue. Whether it’s eliminating repetitive sales tasks or helping customer service reps handle more cases, AI is no longer a futuristic concept. It’s a practical, day-to-day advantage.

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AI-Powered Marketing: Smarter Campaigns, Better Results

Marketing teams can now find the right customers, write better content, and reach audiences at the perfect time—all with the help of AI.

The report explains how tools like Salesforce’s generative AI can instantly build audience segments from customer data. Marketers simply describe their ideal customer in plain language, and AI takes care of the rest.

Once the target is set, AI generates email and ad copy in seconds. What used to take hours now takes minutes. And the more you use it, the smarter it gets—learning from each campaign to improve the next one.

Timing is also a key win. With tools like Einstein Send Time Optimization, marketers know exactly when to reach out, increasing open rates and reducing unsubscribe rates dramatically. Case in point: Grammarly saw an 80% increase in plan upgrades and a 0.04% unsubscribe rate—far below the 2% industry average.

Sales Teams Save Hours a Day

Sales reps often spend more time entering data than talking to customers. AI flips the script.

With AI-powered tools built into CRMs like Salesforce, sales reps can automate tasks such as logging call notes, updating records, and researching prospects. AI copilots act as personal assistants—drafting emails, suggesting next steps, and generating personalized follow-ups.

At Crexi, a commercial real estate marketplace, sales teams using Salesforce’s Einstein AI saved an average of five hours per day. By handling admin work, AI freed up time for what matters most: customer relationships.

And because AI learns from top-performing reps, the whole team benefits from smarter strategies and better outcomes.

Customer Service Gets a Boost Without Hiring More Staff

Customer expectations are higher than ever, but small business teams often don’t have the staff to match that demand.

That’s where AI comes in.

The Salesforce report highlights how AI-powered service tools can answer simple customer questions without any human involvement. AI bots resolve issues instantly and hand off only the most complex cases to live agents.

At MadeComfy, an Airbnb-style rental service, 41% of customer chats are resolved without human agents. That’s nearly half of all inquiries handled by bots.

And when a live agent steps in, AI still helps. It recommends knowledge articles, drafts personalized replies, and even flags cases that might need a supervisor’s attention. After the issue is resolved, AI summarizes the conversation, updates the customer’s record, and can even send follow-up surveys.

A New Standard for Small Business Tools

The message from Salesforce is clear: AI isn’t just for tech giants or Fortune 500 companies. Small businesses are already using it—and winning.

With everything integrated into one CRM platform, business owners don’t need to learn a dozen new tools. They just describe what they need, and AI handles the rest.

From marketing to sales to service, AI is helping small teams do more with less, compete with larger companies, and grow faster.

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