Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped level the playing field so small business owners can compete with larger enterprises. By leveraging AI-powered tools, SMBs can increase efficiency within their organization, scale their operations, and free up time and resources for strategic thinking.
During the 2024 CO— 100 Small Business Forum, Kristen DelGuzzi, VP and Editor-in-Chief at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, spoke with Sandeep Singh, Director and Head of AI Product Management at Iron Mountain, about the current and future potential of AI. Here’s how Singh says small businesses can most effectively leverage AI, and what the future holds for this emerging technology.
How AI puts power back in the hands of small businesses
According to Singh, AI is an “evolution for the masses.” It democratizes access to technology that was once only available to larger corporations. This empowers small businesses to increase their efficiency and scale their operations without a significant price or resource tag.
“If you’re a small business, you want to run as efficiently as possible … [so] either you optimize for cost or optimize for revenue,” he explained. “With AI … if you do it right, you can optimize for both at the same time.”
Some ways Singh said small businesses can leverage AI to increase efficiency include:
- Predictive analysis to easily forecast future business outcomes and trends.
- Dynamic pricing that adjusts automatically based on current market demands.
- Process automation, including offloading administrative tasks.
By streamlining these processes, small businesses can spend less time on repetitive or tedious tasks and more time on creative and big-picture thinking.
[Read more: A Small Business Guide to AI]
We are helping businesses of all kinds automate their back-office processes.
Sandeep Singh, Director and Head of AI Product Management, Iron Mountain
How Iron Mountain uses AI to help small businesses
As an information management company, Iron Mountain is well-versed in supporting small businesses through digital transformation. Today, this process includes automation through AI-powered solutions.
“We are helping businesses of all kinds automate their back-office processes,” Singh said.
For example, Iron Mountain’s AI-driven invoice-processing platform automates the process of matching invoices with purchase orders. The company also offers AI-powered employee onboarding, which streamlines the background check process by comparing documents and records automatically.
These AI-based solutions are designed to save small businesses and their teams valuable time, as well as reduce the likelihood of manual error.
The future of AI in business
While AI has made an indelible impact on today’s business landscape, the rapid pace of technological advancement suggests that there’s more to uncover in the years to come.
“We’re at an interesting juncture when it comes to AI,” said Singh. “This industry is moving so fast, every day, you open up [the] news and you’ll see a new model that has come up.”
Singh predicts that, in the future, AI-powered tools will tackle increasingly specialized tasks and roles. Just as small business owners must orchestrate teams of people now, they may eventually find themselves orchestrating AI systems for different job functions.
“The industry calls this the ‘agentic AI framework,’” Singh added. “The future is where we might see agentic AI frameworks automating business workflows.”
As AI continues to develop, small businesses that prioritize tech literacy and continuous learning will be best positioned to unlock AI’s fullest potential.
[Read more: Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in Business]
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