Webinar Recap: 5 Ways AI Gives Small Business Marketers an Unfair Advantage
Try Thryv for FreeBy Allison Sakounthong, Small Business Expert
Updated October 19, 2026 · 27 min read
Key Takeaways
- AI is a multiplier, not a shortcut. It helps scale strong marketing fundamentals but also amplifies unclear messaging and weak strategy.
- Defining your ideal customer profile (ICP) is the first step. AI performs best when it understands exactly who you are trying to reach.
- Brand voice and customer context matter. Feeding AI your tone, messaging, and first-party data helps content feel authentic instead of generic.
- AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is just as important as traditional SEO. Businesses need to be visible in AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, not just on Google.
- Speed to lead is critical for conversions. AI-powered automation helps businesses respond faster, follow up consistently, and reduce lost opportunities.
- Review generation and customer follow-up are high-impact, quick wins. Even simple automations can improve visibility, trust, and revenue.
- AI helps businesses spend smarter by identifying top-performing campaigns, reducing wasted ad spend, and improving decision-making.
- The best results come when AI supports human expertise, not replaces it. Strategy, creativity, and customer relationships still drive growth.
How Small Businesses Can Use AI to Compete Smarter, Respond Faster, and Grow Revenue
Small business owners wear a lot of hats. Between managing operations, serving customers, handling marketing, and driving revenue, there is rarely enough time in the day to do it all.
That is exactly why AI has become one of the most powerful tools available for small business marketing.
In Thryv’s recent webinar, “5 Ways AI Gives Small Business Marketers an Unfair Advantage,” Head of Growth Patricia Rollins joined Daniel Murray, Founder of The Marketing Millennials, to break down how small businesses can use AI to compete with larger companies that have bigger teams, larger budgets, and dedicated marketing departments.
The biggest takeaway? AI is not magic. It is a multiplier.
When your business fundamentals are strong, AI helps you move faster, stay consistent, and create better customer experiences. When your messaging is unclear, AI simply scales the confusion.
Here is a recap of the five biggest ways AI can help small businesses win.
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AI Is a Multiplier, Not a Shortcut
One of the most important points from the webinar was simple:
AI does not fix bad marketing. It amplifies what already exists.
If your messaging is unclear, AI will create more unclear messaging.
If you do not know your ideal customer, AI will help you talk to the wrong audience faster.
Patricia explained it this way:
Thryv Staff Insight
If you hire AI like a very capable assistant, it will do exactly what you tell it to do. If you cannot delegate clearly to a person, you cannot delegate clearly to AI.
Thryv Research Team
Before using AI for content creation, automation, or ad optimization, small businesses need clarity on:
- Who their ideal customer is
- What problem do they solve
- What their offer actually is
- Why customers should choose them
That foundation changes everything.
1. Use AI for Better Customer Research
Stop Guessing Your ICP
One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is skipping research and jumping straight into content creation.
Before AI can help you write, it needs to understand who you are writing for.
Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) defines:
- Who your best customers are
- Their pain points
- Their goals
- Their buying behavior
- Their language
- Their objections
Without this, AI creates generic content that sounds polished but misses the mark.
If customers cannot tell what you do, AI cannot either.
How to Use AI for Research
Use AI to analyze:
- Customer reviews
- Sales calls
- CRM notes
- Testimonials
- Reddit discussions
- Competitor reviews
- Survey responses
Ask questions like:
- What are the top 5 pain points?
- What language do customers use most often?
- What objections show up repeatedly?
- What customer type converts best?
This helps AI understand your audience before it starts writing.
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2. Show Up Consistently and Authentically
Consistency Builds Trust
Most small businesses struggle with consistency because there simply is not enough time.
AI helps solve that.
Instead of spending days writing one blog post or manually following up with every lead, AI helps marketers create more touchpoints faster.
Examples include:
- Blog creation
- Social media posts
- Email nurture campaigns
- Review request automations
- Website chat responses
- Sales call summaries
- Ad creative generation
But there is one major warning:
Do Not Let AI Sound Like Everyone Else
If you use generic prompts, your content will sound like generic AI content.
Daniel emphasized this clearly:
Thryv Staff Insight
Feed AI your brand voice first.
Thryv Research Team
That means giving it:
- Your best-performing content
- Your tone of voice
- Your customer language
- Examples of what not to say
- Past emails
- Winning blogs
- Sales messaging
- First-party customer data
Without context, AI writes like everyone else.
With context, AI writes like your brand.
Automation Should Feel Helpful, Not Spammy
For example:
If someone visits your pricing page twice but does not convert, AI can trigger:
- A follow-up email
- A text message
- A retargeting ad
- A testimonial-based nurture sequence
The goal is not more automation. The goal is better timing and more relevance.
3. Improve Visibility with AEO, Not Just SEO
If AI Cannot Find You, Customers Cannot Either
Search behavior is changing.
Customers are no longer only searching Google. They are asking:
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
- Perplexity
That means businesses need more than SEO.
They need AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). AEO helps your business appear when AI tools answer customer questions.
Where AI Pulls Information From
AI platforms pull from:
- Your website
- Blog content
- FAQ pages
- Reviews
- Reddit threads
- Social media
- User-generated content
- Community discussions
- Business listings
- Public forums
This means visibility depends on your full digital presence, not just rankings.
Quick Test You Can Run Today
Open ChatGPT and type in the problem your business solves.
Do not type your company name.
Instead ask:
“Who is the best plumber near me?”
or
“How do I find a good family law attorney?”
If your business does not appear, that is your starting point.
Easy AEO Wins
Start by improving:
- Clear website messaging
- FAQ sections
- Review generation
- Google Business Profile updates
- Social proof
- Customer testimonials
- Helpful blog content
- Reddit and community presence
Small businesses have an advantage here because AI often values the best answer, not just the #1 Google ranking.
4. Speed Up Lead Generation and Follow-Up
Speed to Lead Wins
This may have been the most practical takeaway of the entire webinar.
Patricia put it simply:
Thryv Staff Insight
The fastest responder often wins the customer.
Thryv Research Team
If someone fills out a form and you wait hours to respond, they are already talking to your competitor.
This is where AI-powered automation becomes incredibly valuable.
High-Impact Automations to Build First
Start with:
Lead Inquiry Follow-Up
Someone fills out a form.
AI instantly sends:
- Confirmation email
- Follow-up text
- Scheduling link
- Personalized next step
Proposal Follow-Up
A customer receives a quote.
No response?
AI sends:
- Reminder email
- FAQ support
- Trust-building testimonials
Post-Service Review Requests
The job is complete.
AI automatically requests:
- Google reviews
- Yelp reviews
- Referral opportunities
Customer Onboarding
After a sale, AI helps reduce buyer’s remorse with:
- Welcome emails
- Next-step reminders
- Appointment confirmations
5. Spend Smarter with Better Marketing Data
Stop Spending Blindly
When budgets are tight, every marketing dollar matters.
AI helps businesses make better spending decisions by analyzing what is working and what is wasting money.
Instead of guessing, you can ask AI:
- Which campaigns have the lowest cost per lead?
- Which ads have the highest conversion rates?
- What audience segments perform best?
- Which channels deserve more budget?
- What should we turn off immediately?
A Practical Prompt
Patricia shared this example:
Thryv Staff Insight
Here is my ad data. Which campaigns have the lowest cost per lead but highest conversion? What do they have in common?
Thryv Research Team
That kind of analysis helps marketers shift spending confidently instead of relying on assumptions.
AI Helps Validate Decisions
It does not replace strategy.
It helps you make better decisions faster.
That is especially valuable when small businesses cannot afford to waste spend.
Final Takeaway: Start with Fundamentals
The five advantages are powerful:
- Research your customer better
- Show up consistently
- Improve visibility
- Respond faster to leads
- Spend smarter
But none of them work without the fundamentals.
Before using AI, make sure you know:
- Your ICP
- Your offer
- Your message
- Your voice
- Your customer journeys
Then let AI help you scale it.
Because AI is not replacing great marketers.
It is helping small businesses become better ones.
How Thryv Helps Small Businesses Put AI to Work
Thryv helps small businesses turn these AI strategies into real growth.
From lead generation and automated follow-up to review management, SEO, AEO, social media, and customer communication, Thryv gives business owners the tools to market smarter without needing a large team.
Whether you need faster lead response, stronger visibility online, or better customer retention, Thryv helps you build the systems that make growth sustainable.
Explore how Thryv helps businesses grow with AI-powered marketing tools built for small business success.
Frequently asked questions
Small businesses can use AI for customer research, content creation, lead follow-up, review generation, email automation, ad optimization, and improving online visibility through SEO and AEO.
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It helps businesses appear in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini by improving website content, FAQs, reviews, and authority signals.
The best first automation is usually lead follow-up. Fast response times improve conversion rates and help prevent leads from going to competitors.
No. AI supports marketing strategy but does not replace it. Businesses still need strong messaging, clear offers, and a deep understanding of their customers for AI to be effective.
ICP stands for Ideal Customer Profile. It defines the type of customer most likely to buy from your business and helps improve messaging, targeting, and conversion rates.