{"id":41028,"date":"2025-08-18T13:31:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T13:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/?post_type=knowledge&p=41028"},"modified":"2025-08-18T13:31:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T13:31:41","slug":"6-of-the-best-free-ai-tools-for-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"knowledge","link":"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/tech\/6-of-the-best-free-ai-tools-for-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"6 of the best free AI tools for small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The best AI tools can help small business owners to save time and money. AI tools can save workers 2.5 hours a day and almost a third (28 per cent) of businesses say they\u2019ve used AI to cut costs, according to Hubspot research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with so many products on the market, it can be difficult to know where to start. Whether you\u2019re looking to use AI to help you with marketing campaigns or operations, it\u2019s important to research and compare the best tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, we\u2019ve taken a look at some of the best-known free AI tools that you can use for writing, creating videos, completing admin tasks, and recording voiceovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. ChatGPT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ChatGPT is a generative AI chatbot developed by OpenAI. The tool is estimated to have almost 200 million monthly users, including businesses and consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Used for: <\/strong>Research, ideas, writing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Features: <\/strong>Small businesses can use ChatGPT to write articles, adverts, job descriptions, or emails. It can also be used as a chatbot for research or to generate ideas. It\u2019s a popular learning tool to help business owners upskill on trends, tools, or concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros: <\/strong>Quick and easy to summarise complex information, saves time on writing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cons: <\/strong>Information isn\u2019t always accurate and can sometimes be plagiarised. AI-generated writing may need to be edited, and there are limits on the number of daily uses.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small business example: <\/strong>A small accounting business is looking to hire a new employee. They use ChatGPT to write a job description<\/a> and then use it to filter applications based on certain criteria.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alternatives: <\/strong>Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Read more: <\/strong>How to write great ChatGPT prompts for your business<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Notion AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Notion is a platform that integrates apps and helps businesses to automate admin and repetitive tasks (such as inputting data into spreadsheets). Its AI version has been described by Forbes as an \u2018everything AI app\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Used for: <\/strong>Project and task automation, from summarising information to managing databases<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Features: <\/strong>Notion AI helps businesses with template creation, automating admin, and prioritisation. It has a Q&A function which allows users to ask questions based on all the information held in their workspace. It also integrates with ChatGPT and Claude to help with writing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros: <\/strong>Notion AI\u2019s ability to handle large amounts of information quickly is one of its biggest assets, from summarising documents to creating transcripts or identifying key points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cons: <\/strong>The free plan is limited to just 20 responses (but the AI function is now a core feature of all paid Notion packages).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small business example: <\/strong>A freelance graphic designer<\/a> has doubled their number of clients in 12 months and is finding it difficult to stay organised. They use Notion AI to update customer records, take meeting notes and prioritise weekly tasks for each client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alternatives:<\/strong> Zapier, Asana<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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3. Murf AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Murf AI is a text to speech tool that generates human-sounding voiceovers from prompts. The popularity of podcasts<\/a> and short-form videos with voiceovers means a tool like Murf AI can be invaluable to small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Used for: <\/strong>Creating voiceovers, narrations, or podcasts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Features: <\/strong>Murf AI has a library of over 200 voices. You can use it to generate speech in over 20 languages with different accents. You can also use Murf to create voiceovers replicated from a clip of your own speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros: <\/strong>As well as creating voiceovers, you can use Murf\u2019s in-built studio to edit clips, add sound effects, and background music. Murf also integrates with useful tools such as Canva and Google Slides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cons: <\/strong>The free plan is quite limited and you can\u2019t download the files. So if you\u2019re looking to create a lot of voiceover content, you\u2019ll need the paid version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small business example: <\/strong>A cake baker is trying to reach more customers via TikTok<\/a> but they don\u2019t have the time to record voiceovers for all their videos. They import a clip of their voice into Murf and use it to generate voiceovers for a range of TikTok videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alternatives: <\/strong>Luvvoice, NaturalReader<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Explained \u2013 how AI can help small business owners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Business task<\/strong><\/td>How AI can help <\/strong><\/td>Key steps<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Responding to enquiries<\/td>Handling simple queries made by customers<\/td>Provide your AI assistant tool with a range of possible questions and answers you might receive, and provide it with guidelines on how to respond to people on behalf of your business.<\/td><\/tr>
Writing an email newsletter<\/td>Writing emails on your behalf, including subject lines and body copy<\/td>Provide the tool with a detailed brief about what you want to say in your newsletter (and how you want to say it). Once the tool has created a draft, give it suggestions on how to improve it further<\/td><\/tr>
Chasing late payments<\/td>Automatically chase payments on your behalf, helping to improve your cash flow<\/td>Provide an AI invoice tool with details of your all outstanding invoices, such as amount owed and contact details<\/td><\/tr>
Inventory management<\/td>Forecasting product demand based on data<\/td>Provide an AI inventory tool with all your stock and sales data. Explain exactly what you need, such as a forecast for demand in December<\/td><\/tr>
Diary scheduling<\/td>Prioritising tasks, scheduling and rescheduling meetings<\/td>Give an AI diary tool access to your calendar. Provide it with a set of rules for how it should respond to meeting invites and prioritise specific tasks<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Adobe Express<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Adobe Express uses AI tool Firefly to help people create images, graphics, and videos, no matter their level of expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Used for: <\/strong>Creating images, making clips from longer videos, creating social media assets<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Features: <\/strong>Adobe Express allows you to create images from text, making it a very useful tool for social media marketing<\/a>. It has lots of features that can be used to elevate visuals without the help of a graphic designer. These include animation of static images and one-click background removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros: <\/strong>You can describe exactly what you want and Adobe Express can use Firefly to create it for you. This allows businesses to create a range of content (such as social media posts) using their brand colours and logos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cons: <\/strong>The free version has a limited number of AI credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small business example: <\/strong>The owner of a hat business has just launched a new product. They use Adobe Express to create an Instagram carousel<\/a> to promote it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alternatives: <\/strong>Canva<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

5. Lumen 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AI tools like Lumen 5 drastically reduce the barriers to video creation for small business owners. When it comes to marketing, video is one of the most popular ways to reach customers, so a tool like Lumen can help you promote your business to more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Used for: <\/strong>Creating videos for social media and marketing campaigns<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Features: <\/strong>Lumen 5 is a text to video tool \u2013 you can use it to create videos from blog posts or scripts. One of its key features is its automated storyboarding. There\u2019s also customisation tools and the option to incorporate your own branding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros: <\/strong>Lumen 5 drastically reduces the amount of time, money, and expertise needed to create a video. It comes with a media library and voiceover options to help businesses create professional videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cons: <\/strong>AI videos can be inconsistent and Lumen 5 is reliant on templates. As with most AI tools, the free version is limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small business example: <\/strong>A restaurant<\/a> wants to share their new menu with their followers on social media. They paste the text version of the menu into Lumen 5 and use it to create a video that brings their new dishes to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alternatives: <\/strong>Flicki<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

6. Copy.AI\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If running a business is your strongpoint but writing is one of your weaknesses, a tool like Copy.AI could be just what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Used for: <\/strong>Writing ad copy and blog posts, automating content planning and schedules<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Features: <\/strong>Copy.AI emphasises its ability to use a specific tone of voice<\/a> if you provide it with the relevant information. Other features include templates for all types of marketing<\/a> content, from ad copy to social media posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros: <\/strong>Copy.AI allows you to automate the creation of content for a whole marketing campaign in one go, which can save a huge amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cons: <\/strong>The free plan is limited and all content created by Copy.AI is likely to require fact-checking and editing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small business example: <\/strong>A plumber<\/a> wants to share some educational content on Facebook<\/a> about how to spot the signs of a frozen pipe. They use Copy.AI to create a seven-step guide for consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alternatives: <\/strong>Jasper<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Best free AI tool for marketing<\/strong><\/td>		ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot<\/td><\/tr>
Best free AI tools for writing<\/strong><\/td>Copy.AI, Jasper<\/td><\/tr>
Best free AI tool for admin and automation<\/strong><\/td>Notion AI, Asana, Zapier<\/td><\/tr>
Best free AI tool for ideas and research<\/strong><\/td>ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot<\/td><\/tr>
Best free AI tool for image creation<\/strong><\/td>Adobe Express, Canva<\/td><\/tr>
Best free AI tool for video creation<\/strong><\/td>Lumen 5, Fliki<\/td><\/tr>
Best free AI tools for voiceover creation<\/strong><\/td>Murf AI, Luvvoice, NaturalReader<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5 risks of AI small businesses should consider<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Cost <\/strong>\u2013 AI tools can be expensive, and could be a waste of money if you don\u2019t use them properly. Research thoroughly, look for free alternatives, and put in the required time and effort to get the most out of the tools.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Data privacy and security <\/strong>\u2013 all AI tools need data. If you\u2019re providing sensitive customer information, it\u2019s crucial you use a tool that is secure otherwise your data could be compromised.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Unreliable technology <\/strong>\u2013 many AI tools are new, which means they could still be in development. And even the most trusted tools don\u2019t always work how you want them too. Make sure you still have manual systems in place as a fallback.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Plagiarism and errors <\/strong>\u2013 if you\u2019re using AI tools to write or create things, remember that the end result will be based on something that already exists. Make your own edits and check carefully for errors before publishing anything.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Losing the human touch<\/strong> \u2013 no one knows more about your business than you, and people still like to deal with other people. Overreliance on AI could make your business lose what made it special in the first place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    Final thoughts \u2013 choosing the best free AI tools for your business<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Chosen wisely and used effectively, AI tools could provide your business with a significant boost. Before committing, it\u2019s crucial to understand where you could benefit from AI and target the relevant tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Although most tools have free versions, most of them are limited so often it\u2019s worth using a free version as a trial to see if the tool works for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s also important to remember that while AI tools can be extremely helpful, they can\u2019t replace what you know about your own business. With this in mind, make sure you check everything and call on your own expertise where possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n