Anyone can make an online business using AI tools, even people with no formal skills. Automated features mean people don't need to build content personally or manage customer support. AI platform tools mean a website can start for cheap.
Building a successful online business means no longer having a computer science degree. The major separation between normal people and the computer skilled has come almost completely undone. This change isn't because the internet got simpler, it's because the adaptive technology of AI decently evolved.
The 2023 McKinsey generative AI report says 70% of people by that time experimented with AI in their work. As these new AI technologies become more free and more popular, the skills once reserved to the whole engineering branch become the domain of the solo founder.
There are multiple ways to use AI to get your online business running. Each of these ways can be used the whole way from being able to get your first customers all the way to helping you raise and collect even more money from them, and you won't have to code anything.
How Can AI Help You Start an Online Business With No Technical Skills?
The biggest barrier for starting a business in the past was to hire lots of people. Now the barriers gone because of substantial improvements in AI. One operator can do the work of many with a good selection of AI tools.
This is where AI makes the most impact right away:
Finding and Validating Your Business Idea
Most first-time entrepreneurs make the same mistake: they skip the validation step. You have to make sure that your potential customers actually want to buy your product or service before you invest your time and money.
Creating and validating your business idea can be done much faster using AI tools. Based on your skills, interests, and existing market gaps, business ideas can be generated using ChatGPT or Claude. Then you can validate those ideas using Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, or SparkToro to see what people are searching for.
For even more validation, tools like Exploding Topics can provide the trends that are starting to emerge and haven’t yet been flooded with competition.
Here’s a good strategy you can use:
- Ask ChatGPT the following, "What are some of the least served business niches that exist in the market of [your industry] that will be profitable in 2024?"
- Check the competition and search volume based on the generated ideas using keyword tools.
- Generate a survey to gauge interest using AI tools such as Typeform. This tool also has an analysis of the survey responses.
Building your website without coding
You’ve been able to build websites without coding on platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. The real game-changer is the AI that has been integrated into those platforms.
Websites can now be generated by simply answering a few questions through Wix’s ADI. Shopify Magic even helps ecommerce founders create product descriptions, generate a layout for the store, and provides pricing suggestions, all through AI-driven workflows.
Framer AI and Durable are examples of tools that can generate a business website in under a minute, and while they are not perfect, will take very little time to edit and publish.
Using AI for Marketing When You Aren't a Marketer
The area most non-technical founders struggle in is marketing. With copywriting, SEO, social media, emails, and so much more, it is like there are so many full time jobs they must learn. The most respectable techniques are still going to require a lot of strategy to make work and AI is not going to erase that, but the burden for execution is going to be a lot lower.
How AI Can Help You Market By Creating Content
Content marketing is one of the most valuable resources that a young business can afford. The problem is that the consistency of quality content is draining. AI can help with posts and snippets much quicker than the traditional method.
A good way to put this in motion:
- Employ AI to make a thorough outline based on a targeted keyword.
- Write the main ideas with the knowledge that this will still be authentic.
- Then lean on AI again to create, improve, and finalize the draft.
- Put the final draft into Grammarly to catch any mistakes.
The best results come from strategy and the bulk of work coming from AI.
How to Market With AI and Still be Effective at SEO
SEO is always going to be a domain that requires some sort of expense, but with AI it is becoming more accessible. Surfer, NeuronWriter, and Clearscope will help you understand SEO better with AI recommendations for what to include in a blog post to rank.
AI has also entered the area of keyword research with tools like Semrush and Ahrefs. These have features in their free tiers to help early-stage startups develop keyword clusters and fill content gaps.
AI in Advertising and Design
Meta's AI-powered tools automatically draft ads, suggest audiences, and manage budgets. Canva's Magic Studio uses text prompts to generate designs, making high-integrity advertising accessible to non-designers.
Organic social media tools have great AI integration too. Buffer, Hootsuite, and Lately AI all assist in post scheduling and offer insights on post performance.
Using AI to Operate Your Business
Growing your business means having to run your business more efficiently, and on a larger scale. AI tools automate many of the repetitive tasks that keep your business running, but don't create revenue.
Customer Support
AI chatbots, Tidio, Fin from Intercom, and Freshdesk, run customer support for you 24/7. The time and energy one-man (or woman) bands save from not having to do customer support is astonishing. Instead of answering the same five questions dozens of times, set your AI agent and it runs uninterrupted customer support.
These tools integrate directly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Squarespace without a troublesome technical setup.
Email Marketing and CRM
AI support in Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and HubSpot has taken a load off from drafting and scheduling email campaigns and audience segmentation for small business owners. Klaviyo has an edge as a pioneer in behavioral automation. Their AI tools manage user journeys and automated email sequences based on user interaction with the email campaigns.
Bookkeeping and Finance
Advanced bookkeeping software like FreshBooks and QuickBooks automates assignment of transaction categorizations and abnormal expenditure flags, as well as the creation of financial summaries. FreshBooks also offers a receipt data extraction feature. These tools easily integrate with business operations without requiring the user to have a background in accounting.
How to Scale Your Online Business With AI
As a business begins to grow, the operations and expenditures associated with the business also grow. Fortunately, the right technology helps business founders manage the increased complexity of running a business without hiring more workers or spending more money.
Personalization at Scale
With enough customer data, AI can personalize everything from product suggestions and prices to the words and layout of a given webpage. For customer-centric businesses, personalization technology, like Optimizely and Dynamic Yield, lives in eCommerce. Segmented central customer data also provides tool sets for multi-channel personalization.
At scale, personalization is less about making a sale and more about avoiding losing a sale. In the 2023 State of the Connected Customer survey, Salesforce found that 73% of customers expect businesses to tailor their offerings to meet their specific demands.
Automating Workflows with No-Code AI
With no-code automation platforms like Integromat (now Make) and Zapier, any user can automation workflows across hundreds of applications. As these platforms have integrated AI, businesses can implement smarter automations that go beyond moving data.
To illustrate how user friendly (and totally no code) this feature is: if a new customer orders a product, Zapier sends that customer a personalized email to welcome them and automatically places them in a specific segment of your HubSpot CRM, before notifying your support team in Slack.
Building and Selling Digital Products With AI
AI has greatly expanded opportunities for online businesses in the area of AI-supported digital product creation. Now, founders can create and sell:
- Online courses using AI tools like Synthesia (which creates AI Videos) and Descript (which does AI Audio/Video Editing)
- Ebooks and guides with AI support and designed in Canva
- Templates and tools in Notion, Airtable, or Google Sheets with AI-generated guides and documentation
- Stock assets like AI photography, illustrations, and AI music
Selling digital products is simple with new platforms like Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, and Podia.
What Are the Limitations of Using AI in Your Online Business?
Though there is plenty of value in AI, using it can come with some downsides. Here are some to consider:
- AI requires you to maintain quality control. Generic, inaccurate, and tone-deaf content is often the result of an absence of review. AI content must be reviewed before it is delivered to customers.
- AI is only as good as your inputs. Write poor prompts and expect a poor response. The ability to write quality, specific prompts is a valuable skill.
- Consider the implications of data privacy and compliance. Using AI tools that involve customer data requires a consideration of GDPR, CCPA, and specific platform terms of service.
- If you become too reliant on AI tools, your business may lack the personal touch that creates customer loyalty.
- It is important to consider AI as an aid that executes tasks well.
Build Your AI Business Stack Now
The right AI tools have simplified starting a business for individuals with little or no technical skills. Everything is in place. The methods are established. The only limitation is your initiative.
Focus on one section of your business. This could be anything from content to customer support or operations. This week, implement an AI tool for your chosen section. Once you are proficient with one tool, only then should you implement another. The lone wolf founder is competing with larger business teams is because of the steady and consistent application of compounding.
The tools will continue to evolve. The people who start using AI assistance to build their businesses will have an incomparable advantage.
FAQs
Can I utilize AI to start an online business without any technical skills?
Absolutely! With AI tools such as Shopify, Wix ADI, and Canva AI, you can develop websites, draft advertising, and publish products without the ability to code! The most important skills are determining the right tools for the job and learning the fundamentals for each.
Which AI tools are best for starting online businesses?
An excellent AI beginner tool kit is ChatGPT or Claude for writing and research, Canva Magic Studio for design, Shopify or Wix for websites, Mailchimp for email marketing, and Tidio or Intercom for customer service. Most provide a free or inexpensive subscription or tier.
What is the cost of AI tools for online businesses?
Most AI tools have free versions which are generally sufficient for new businesses. A modest monthly budget for an AI platform for content generation, design, email, and customer support tools is between $50 and $200/month. Costs increase with the business and the need for more advanced features.
Will my website’s SEO rankings be hurt by using AI to generate content?
Not at this time. Google has not focused on the content generation method; their guidance has focused on content quality and helpfulness. AI generated content that is accurate, original, and that readers find useful, can even rank. The concern would be to publish large quantities of low quality, unedited, AI output, which would be detrimental.
How can I use AI to determine the viability of a business idea without spending money?
You can use ChatGPT to come up with niche ideas and customer personas, and then validate the demand using Google Trends and Semrush for your keywords. You could even create a very basic landing page with Carrd or Durable, generate traffic to it, and determine your conversion in order to gauge interest, before even doing more.
What type of AI-based businesses would be the most successful?
If your business is or includes a content driven model, AI automation is especially an advantage for blogs, newsletters, courses, eCommerce, and service based businesses that have repetitive workflows. A business model that has a high level of content generation, customer communication, or data analysis would be significantly supported.
Is it ethical to use AI to run a business?
The use of AI to run a business is ethically acceptable as long as certain considerations are maintained. Stakeholders need to have trust and assurance when interacting with a business. This will require reviewing AI outputs to ensure the information is correct and that customer data is protected, in addition to ensuring that the use of AI does not supplant necessary human interactions.