How to use AI in a small business: a 30-day adoption plan
A week-by-week plan for introducing AI into a small team without disrupting the work that already pays the bills.
Week 1 — Observe before you automate
Spend the first week writing down every repeated question a customer asks and every document your team rewrites from scratch. This list is your roadmap; nothing else is needed to start.
Week 2 — Standardise the answers
Turn the top ten repeated questions into written answers with a consistent tone. AI amplifies whatever standard you give it, so the standard comes first.
Automation applied to a messy process produces mess at speed.
Week 3 — Add the assistant
Now introduce an assistant with your written answers as reference material. Ask it to adapt tone, shorten, translate or personalise — never to invent facts.
Week 4 — Measure and cut
- Response time to first reply
- Percentage of enquiries that get a follow-up within 48 hours
- Hours returned to the team each week
If a tool has not moved one of those three numbers in 30 days, cancel it. Adoption discipline is what separates a system from a subscription.
We research and document AI workflows for small businesses across Kenya and the wider continent, written from operating realities, not theory. Everything we publish is built to be used the same day you read it — scripts, checklists and systems.
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