Why AI Is a Game-Changer for Small Businesses
AI is moving so fast right now, it can seem intimidating, but it is a really useful tool that can save you hours of work. Clearing out your emails, keeping your social media up-to-date, there are many AI tools that help small businesses get things done faster. ChatGPT, for example, works like a smart assistant: you type in a question or task, and it generates text you can use as a draft.
It doesn’t replace your own ideas or expertise, but it can save you time and spark inspiration. Imagine you run a choir in York and you’re trying to explain what makes your rehearsals special. Instead of staring at a blank page, you can ask ChatGPT to help draft a welcoming description that highlights inclusivity, humour, and community.
For small businesses where time is precious, that kind of support can make a huge difference. So here is my guide...
Five Simple Ways to Use ChatGPT on Your Website
Here are practical, quick wins you can apply this week:
1. How to write a good prompt
Its very easy to spot something written by ChatGPT these days. The tone is always the same, there are em dashes everywhere, examples are always listed in threes......... But with the right prompt ChatGPT can write you a good outline for literally anything. Outline, not the actual post! You should always go and edit. So here is how you train your version of ChatGPT to help you communicate your personal message.
Start with a few rules, or guidelines, whichever you label you prefer. After a while, you should be able to stop putting this much detail into each prompt as it will learn what you expect from XYZ. But for now, here are a few good starting rules to put in before you tell ChatGPT exactly what you want it to do.
The Prompt
- Use a natural tone of varied heterogeneous sentence and paragraph lengths
- Avoid em dashes because I never use them and do not use semicolons
- Before producing content, please review the following words and find appropriate alternatives, unless they are absolutely necessary:
meticulous, meticulously, navigating, complexities, realm, bespoke, tailored, towards, underpins, ever changing, ever-evolving, in a world, the world of, sphere, not only, seeking more than just, designed to enhance, it’s not merely, is not only, not only, is not just, our suite, it is advisable, daunting, in the heart of, when it comes to, in the realm of, amongst unlock the secrets, unveil the secrets, robust, delve, dive into, in conclusion, digital landscape
- Take extra time to clarify facts, ensuring accuracy and relevance to my business industry and the topic I am writing about
- Remove all em dashes before posting your response
Then follow on with what you want ChatGPT to do for you. For example "Hey, please could you help me write a narrative about the origins, mission and values of my new business?"
Here are some further ideas you might want to consider.
- Give the article a reading level (to help with a point of reference here, the average reading level of The Guardian is 14, The Sun is 8)
- Set the tone (humorous, professional, friendly, informative etc)
2. Generate Blog Content Ideas
Now that you've got your amazing prompt
Example: A singing group in York might ask, “What blog posts could attract people searching for choirs in York?” ChatGPT might suggest posts like “Five Benefits of Joining a Local Choir” or “How Singing Together Boosts Mental Health.”
3. Improve Local SEO with Smarter Content
If you want to show up in local searches — “web design in York” or “chamber music in York” — you need to use these phrases naturally on your website. ChatGPT can help by weaving local keywords into your service pages, blog posts, and even your meta descriptions.
Action step: Take your main service (e.g., tutoring, catering, event planning) and ask ChatGPT: “Write a 150-word service page for [service] in York, with a friendly and professional tone.”
4. Build FAQs That Save Time
FAQs do double duty: they improve your SEO and answer common questions so you spend less time replying to emails.
Example: A chamber music group in York could ask:
- Do I need to audition?
- Where do rehearsals take place?
- How much does it cost to join?
Action step: Write down the top 5 questions your customers ask most often, then use ChatGPT to polish your answers into clear, concise text for your website.
5. Create Strong Calls to Action (CTAs)
A good website guides visitors to take the next step. That might be booking a consultation, signing up for a newsletter, or joining a rehearsal.
Example CTAs ChatGPT can draft:
- “Book your free consultation today.”
- “Join our next rehearsal in York — no audition required.”
- “Get your free website health check now.”
Action step: Ask ChatGPT to create 5 variations of a call to action. Test one on your homepage and another on a blog post to see which gets more responses.
How to Get the Best Results with AI
AI isn’t magic — it’s a helper. To make it work for your business:
- Be specific: Give ChatGPT context about your business, audience, and goals.
- Don’t accept the first draft: Always tweak the text so it sounds like you.
- Keep it short: Set aside 10–15 minutes at a time. You’ll be surprised how much you can improve in one focused session.
- Fact-check everything: AI is great for structure and ideas, but you’re the expert on your business.
Bringing It All Together
Small business owners don’t have endless hours to spend polishing their website, and that’s where AI can help. Whether you’re running a café, a web design studio in York, or a local singing group, ChatGPT makes it easier to communicate clearly, attract the right people, and save time.
By spending just a few minutes each week — rewriting a page, drafting a blog idea, or polishing your FAQs — you’ll steadily improve your site and build a stronger online presence.
A Little Extra Help with SEO
If you’d like to take things a step further, I’ve created my own AI-powered tool: Astrid, your SEO GPT assistant. Astrid is designed specifically to help small business owners improve their search visibility without the jargon.
