Most small businesses can start with a chat assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude, add Grammarly for writing, and bring in a specialist tool only when a task needs it: Adobe Firefly for design, Otter for meetings, ElevenLabs for voice and Gamma for presentations. Every tool below has a free option, so you can test it before you pay.
This guide covers seven tools by job. For each one we explain what it does, who it suits, the free option and the paid pricing we could confirm. Prices are in US dollars unless we say otherwise.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Job | Free option | Paid pricing we confirmed |
|---|
| ChatGPT | Chat assistant | Yes | Go $8 USD (US price), Plus $20 per month |
| Claude | Chat assistant | Yes | Pro $20, Team standard seat $25 per month (monthly billing) |
| Grammarly | Writing | Yes | Pro $12 USD |
| Adobe Firefly | Design and images | Yes (daily generations) | Standard US$9.99 per month |
| Otter | Meeting notes | Yes | Pro $16.99 per user per month |
| ElevenLabs | Voice | Yes | Starter $6 per month |
| Gamma | Presentations | Yes | Not confirmed |
Chat assistants
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is OpenAI's AI assistant. A small business might use it to draft emails, outline a proposal, brainstorm product names or summarise a long document.
Free option: unlimited text chats (subject to abuse guardrails) and limited use of uploads, image creation, voice and deep research. Paid: in OpenAI's pricing docs, Go is $8 USD per month in the US and Plus is $20 per month. The Business plan is listed at $20 per user per month for 2 or more users billed annually, or $25 per user per month billed monthly. Go pricing is localized in some markets, and OpenAI's pricing page says Go may include ads.
Claude
Claude is Anthropic's AI assistant, and it covers similar everyday work: writing, summarising documents and answering questions. It suits people who want to compare two assistants and keep the one that fits how they work.
Free option: Anthropic lists chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, file creation and code execution. Paid: on the official pricing page, Pro is $17 per month with an annual subscription ($200 billed up front) or $20 if billed monthly. The Team plan, for teams of 2 to 150, has a standard seat at $20 per seat per month billed annually, or $25 billed monthly.
Writing
Grammarly
Grammarly checks spelling, grammar and tone, which helps with customer emails, website copy and proposals.
Free option: writing checks plus 100 AI prompts per month. Paid: Pro is listed on the official plans page at $12 USD (the page text we read does not show the billing period, so check it before you subscribe) and includes 2,000 AI prompts per member per month. Grammarly says Pro includes team features that were once only in its Business plan. Larger teams can contact sales about Enterprise.
Design
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly creates images, video and audio from text descriptions. It suits businesses that need social media graphics, product backgrounds or short clips without a design team. Adobe states that "Adobe Firefly models are commercially safe", but it does not say the same for partner models offered inside Firefly, so check the terms for the model you pick.
Free option: Adobe offers free daily generations across image, video and audio. Paid: Adobe's Firefly page lists Firefly Standard at US$9.99 per month (2,000 generative credits per month) and Firefly Pro at US$19.99 per month (4,000 credits). Adobe shows prices by region, so your price may differ. Check the plan terms, because Adobe also runs time-limited offers on some plans.
Meetings
Otter
Otter is an AI meeting assistant. It transcribes meetings live, writes summaries with action items, and works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. It suits owners who spend the day in client calls and need notes without typing. Tell people when you record a call.
Free option: the Basic plan includes 300 monthly transcription minutes and a 30-minute limit per conversation. Paid: the official pricing page lists Pro at $16.99 per user per month on monthly billing, or $8.33 per user per month on annual billing, and Business at $19.99 per user per month on annual billing. The page also shows lower offers that it says are valid only with an India-issued credit card.
Voice
ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs is an AI audio platform. It offers text to speech, voice cloning and a voice library of 17,500+ voices. It can suit businesses making voiceovers for videos, training material or phone messages.
Free option: $0 per month with 10k credits. Paid: the official pricing page lists Starter at $6 per month with 30k credits and a commercial licence. The page does not list a commercial licence on the Free plan, so check before using free-plan audio in paid work. ElevenLabs says prices exclude taxes.
Presentations
Gamma
Gamma creates presentations, documents, websites and social visuals from a prompt. It suits owners who need a pitch deck or client proposal quickly.
Free option: Gamma's free plan allows up to 10 slides per prompt, import from PDF and PPTX, and export to PDF, PPTX, PNG and Google Slides. Paid: Plus removes Gamma branding and allows up to 100 slides per prompt, and Pro adds custom branding and analytics. We could not confirm paid prices from the official pricing page, so check it for current amounts.
How to get started without wasting money
Most small businesses do better by solving one problem at a time than by signing up to everything at once. A simple approach is:
- Pick one task that takes too long. Examples are replying to routine emails, writing quotes, taking meeting notes or making social posts.
- Test a free plan on real work for a week. Note how much time it saves and how much editing the result needs.
- Pay only if a limit gets in the way. Free plans cap things like minutes, credits or slides, and that is usually the point where a paid plan makes sense.
- Check the licence and privacy terms. This matters most for images, voice and customer information.
- Keep a person in charge. AI tools can make mistakes, so someone in your business should review anything that goes to a customer.
If you are comparing two tools for the same job, such as ChatGPT and Claude, use the same real task in both and keep the one that needs less fixing.
How we chose
We picked one or two tools for each common small business job: chat, writing, design, meetings, voice and presentations. Every fact in this guide was checked against the tool's official website on 20 October 2026. When we could not confirm something, we left it out. Prices change, so check the official page before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI tool should a small business start with?
A chat assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude covers the widest range of tasks, and both have free plans. Try one for a week on real work before you pay for anything.
Do I need to pay for AI tools?
Not at the start. Free plans are enough to test whether a tool helps. Paid plans make sense when you hit a limit or need a feature, such as a commercial licence for audio.
Can I use AI-made images and audio in my marketing?
It depends on the tool and plan. Adobe says its Firefly models are commercially safe, and ElevenLabs lists a commercial licence from its Starter plan. Read each tool's terms before you publish.
Is it safe to paste customer details into an AI tool?
Be careful. Avoid pasting private customer or financial information unless you have checked the tool's privacy settings and terms for your plan.
How much should I budget for AI tools?
The entry paid plans we confirmed start at $6 per month (ElevenLabs Starter), and most single-user plans we checked cost about $20 per month or less. Add one paid tool at a time and cancel anything you do not use.
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