elk Marketing reports that as 66% of small businesses utilize AI, tools like Mailchimp and Shopify can streamline holiday marketing, customer service, and operations.
AI Tools for Holiday Marketing Once small business owners establish a holiday strategy, they can use AI to perform tasks a marketer would handle, such as brainstorming promotions, organizing ideas, and creating content calendars. For gift promotions, tools within email software like Mailchimp offer email drafting, segmentation, personalization, and campaign analysis. Owners can then repurpose this content for social media posts and ads. AI Tools for Content Creation Existing staff-written guides or lists of popular items can be repurposed into blog posts, email campaigns, or social media content using AI tools. Canva, for example, provides writing, image, and video tools to develop drafts or adapt materials into graphics, short videos, and social media assets. Business owners can customize a brand kit with their logos, colors, and fonts for consistent content, and upload their own photos. AI Tools for Customer Service Automation helps manage high volumes of customer communications. Automated delivery updates can answer shopper questions outside business hours. Tools like Gorgias support automated order tracking, returns assistance, product inquiries, and basic troubleshooting. By configuring answers for common FAQs, shipping deadlines, and exchange policies, owners and employees can spend less time on routine inquiries, allowing complex situations to be escalated to human support. AI Tools for Ecommerce and Sales Shopify offers AI-powered storefront search and customizable product recommendations, which aid in discovery, personalization, upselling, and cross-selling. These features can be combined with accurate product descriptions, inventory checks, and follow-up for abandoned carts. It is important to differentiate between AI and conventional automation features and ensure they genuinely improve the shopping experience. AI Tools for Analytics and Business Intelligence Shopify Sidekick can analyze sales and customer behavior, eliminating the need for manual report generation. For instance, an owner can investigate sales declines to see if they correlate with low stock or weak campaign results. AI-generated summaries make it easier to spot unusual changes without a dedicated analyst. However, it's crucial to verify the underlying data and assumptions before acting on revenue forecasts or purchasing recommendations. AI Tools for Operations Small businesses can use Microsoft Copilot to summarize meetings and suggest action items, while QuickBooks assists with bookkeeping and transaction categorization. Managers onboarding holiday staff can use meeting summaries to prepare project checklists or team updates. Businesses can also explore scheduling assistance or inventory notifications to reduce manual work. It is essential to ensure human review of AI-generated work before relying on it. The Rise of Agentic AI Agentic AI can take a goal provided by a business owner and execute the necessary steps to achieve it autonomously, without requiring constant instruction. Intuit describes agentic systems as combining actions and recommendations with access to human experts. For example, instead of just drafting a marketing email, agentic AI could develop an entire email campaign based on business goals and prepare messages for owner review before sending. It can also review multiple systems to identify sales problems, research solutions, and take authorized actions, provided the necessary integrations, permissions, and oversight are established. Meta Muse: One Example of the Agentic AI Shift Meta's Muse tool connects various business accounts and applications, including Instagram analytics, Facebook Pages, and advertising accounts. During the holidays, Muse could review campaigns and suggest customer-acquisition priorities for a marketer's approval. Meta's examples for Muse include growth planning, performance analysis, and administrative task organization. Businesses using Muse should evaluate whether these connections effectively reduce the time spent gathering information across different systems. How to Choose the Right AI Tools for Your Business To select appropriate AI tools, businesses should start by identifying one or two problems and asking: What specific problem does the tool solve, and how much time could it realistically save? Does it integrate well with existing systems, and can employees easily learn to use it? How does the tool handle business and customer data? What level of human oversight is required, and does the cost justify the expected benefits? Finally, can the results and improved customer experience be measured effectively? What Businesses Shouldn’t Hand Over to AI While AI excels at preparatory and repetitive tasks, humans must retain responsibility for decisions that shape the business and its customer relationships. Key areas that should remain human-led include: Brand and creative direction: Strategic decisions, major creative choices, and final approval of public-facing content. Customer relationships: Sensitive conversations, high-value sales discussions, and crisis communications must always be handled by a person. Sensitive business decisions: Matters involving finances, legal questions, or private customer information require human review and approval. Preparing Your Business for AI This Holiday Season To manage an AI pilot effectively, define its scope and review date. First, identify one or two repetitive holiday tasks that consume significant employee time. Check existing software for built-in AI capabilities before acquiring new tools. Ensure business data, such as product descriptions, service information, pricing, and customer records (e.g., email lists), are current. Establish clear approval processes, train employees, and set customer-facing guidelines. Finally, measure time savings, error rates, and business results, then reassess after the holiday season. The Bigger Opportunity for Small Businesses For lean teams, AI offers the opportunity to act on information that was previously difficult to review. An owner could use sales summaries to plan stock purchases while employees handle personalized customer requests. Enhanced content production and streamlined routine operations can help close resource gaps with larger businesses, allowing specialists and agencies to focus on guiding strategy and ensuring quality. The Future of the AI-Powered Small Business Adobe reported a 693.4% year-over-year increase in AI-referred retail traffic during the 2025 holidays, indicating growing discovery through AI assistants, though not necessarily direct sales proof. A controlled holiday pilot can demonstrate whether an AI tool saves time or improves service. Tools like Muse exemplify the broader shift towards agentic AI, providing measurable benefits while maintaining human approval for critical decisions.
AI Tools for Holiday Marketing
Once small business owners establish a holiday strategy, they can use AI to perform tasks a marketer would handle, such as brainstorming promotions, organizing ideas, and creating content calendars. For gift promotions, tools within email software like Mailchimp offer email drafting, segmentation, personalization, and campaign analysis. Owners can then repurpose this content for social media posts and ads.
AI Tools for Content Creation
Existing staff-written guides or lists of popular items can be repurposed into blog posts, email campaigns, or social media content using AI tools. Canva, for example, provides writing, image, and video tools to develop drafts or adapt materials into graphics, short videos, and social media assets. Business owners can customize a brand kit with their logos, colors, and fonts for consistent content, and upload their own photos.
AI Tools for Customer Service
Automation helps manage high volumes of customer communications. Automated delivery updates can answer shopper questions outside business hours. Tools like Gorgias support automated order tracking, returns assistance, product inquiries, and basic troubleshooting. By configuring answers for common FAQs, shipping deadlines, and exchange policies, owners and employees can spend less time on routine inquiries, allowing complex situations to be escalated to human support.
AI Tools for Ecommerce and Sales
Shopify offers AI-powered storefront search and customizable product recommendations, which aid in discovery, personalization, upselling, and cross-selling. These features can be combined with accurate product descriptions, inventory checks, and follow-up for abandoned carts. It is important to differentiate between AI and conventional automation features and ensure they genuinely improve the shopping experience.
AI Tools for Analytics and Business Intelligence
Shopify Sidekick can analyze sales and customer behavior, eliminating the need for manual report generation. For instance, an owner can investigate sales declines to see if they correlate with low stock or weak campaign results. AI-generated summaries make it easier to spot unusual changes without a dedicated analyst. However, it's crucial to verify the underlying data and assumptions before acting on revenue forecasts or purchasing recommendations.
AI Tools for Operations
Small businesses can use Microsoft Copilot to summarize meetings and suggest action items, while QuickBooks assists with bookkeeping and transaction categorization. Managers onboarding holiday staff can use meeting summaries to prepare project checklists or team updates. Businesses can also explore scheduling assistance or inventory notifications to reduce manual work. It is essential to ensure human review of AI-generated work before relying on it.
The Rise of Agentic AI
Agentic AI can take a goal provided by a business owner and execute the necessary steps to achieve it autonomously, without requiring constant instruction. Intuit describes agentic systems as combining actions and recommendations with access to human experts. For example, instead of just drafting a marketing email, agentic AI could develop an entire email campaign based on business goals and prepare messages for owner review before sending. It can also review multiple systems to identify sales problems, research solutions, and take authorized actions, provided the necessary integrations, permissions, and oversight are established.
Meta Muse: One Example of the Agentic AI Shift
Meta's Muse tool connects various business accounts and applications, including Instagram analytics, Facebook Pages, and advertising accounts. During the holidays, Muse could review campaigns and suggest customer-acquisition priorities for a marketer's approval. Meta's examples for Muse include growth planning, performance analysis, and administrative task organization. Businesses using Muse should evaluate whether these connections effectively reduce the time spent gathering information across different systems.
How to Choose the Right AI Tools for Your Business
To select appropriate AI tools, businesses should start by identifying one or two problems and asking: What specific problem does the tool solve, and how much time could it realistically save? Does it integrate well with existing systems, and can employees easily learn to use it? How does the tool handle business and customer data? What level of human oversight is required, and does the cost justify the expected benefits? Finally, can the results and improved customer experience be measured effectively?
What Businesses Shouldn’t Hand Over to AI
While AI excels at preparatory and repetitive tasks, humans must retain responsibility for decisions that shape the business and its customer relationships. Key areas that should remain human-led include: Brand and creative direction: Strategic decisions, major creative choices, and final approval of public-facing content. Customer relationships: Sensitive conversations, high-value sales discussions, and crisis communications must always be handled by a person. Sensitive business decisions: Matters involving finances, legal questions, or private customer information require human review and approval.
Preparing Your Business for AI This Holiday Season
To manage an AI pilot effectively, define its scope and review date. First, identify one or two repetitive holiday tasks that consume significant employee time. Check existing software for built-in AI capabilities before acquiring new tools. Ensure business data, such as product descriptions, service information, pricing, and customer records (e.g., email lists), are current. Establish clear approval processes, train employees, and set customer-facing guidelines. Finally, measure time savings, error rates, and business results, then reassess after the holiday season.
The Bigger Opportunity for Small Businesses
For lean teams, AI offers the opportunity to act on information that was previously difficult to review. An owner could use sales summaries to plan stock purchases while employees handle personalized customer requests. Enhanced content production and streamlined routine operations can help close resource gaps with larger businesses, allowing specialists and agencies to focus on guiding strategy and ensuring quality.
The Future of the AI-Powered Small Business
Adobe reported a 693.4% year-over-year increase in AI-referred retail traffic during the 2025 holidays, indicating growing discovery through AI assistants, though not necessarily direct sales proof. A controlled holiday pilot can demonstrate whether an AI tool saves time or improves service. Tools like Muse exemplify the broader shift towards agentic AI, providing measurable benefits while maintaining human approval for critical decisions.
