Harnessing the Power of AI: A Harvard Business School Guide for Small Businesses
Small business owners have a tremendous opportunity to leverage generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) tools, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's AI-powered Bing search engine, and Poe, according to Harvard Business School professor Karim Lakhani. These tools offer a cost-effective way for small businesses to become more productive and efficient, helping them scale their operations, improve customer communication, and generate marketing content, social media campaigns, and new products. Lakhani emphasizes that the old adage in computer science about AI and job losses applies to small businesses as well: those who use AI will outpace those who don't. To get started with AI, Lakhani suggests small business owners explore three platforms: OpenAI's ChatGPT+ (available for $20 per month), Microsoft's Bing Chat (free), and Poe, which offers access to various gen AI tools. Experimenting with these tools will demonstrate the power of AI for core business tasks. Lak...