August has a way of sneaking up on you.
One minute you’re pretending summer is going to last forever. Next thing you know, there are school supplies in every aisle, the calendar is giving you side-eye, and September is standing in the doorway like a nun with a ruler.
Which makes this the perfect time to ask a slightly uncomfortable question:
Did your business actually learn anything about AI this year, or did you just nod along while everybody else did the homework?
Because while some folks are still treating AI like a weird elective they can skip, small businesses are moving. Fast.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, generative AI adoption among small businesses went from 23% in 2023 to 40% in 2024 to 58% in 2025.
That’s more than double in two years.
That’s also a whole lot of businesses figuring this stuff out while some people are still standing in the hallway asking where homeroom is.
Small Business AI Adoption
Now, before anybody starts sweating through their sensible business-casual shirt, this does not mean you need to become a prompt engineer, build twelve AI agents, or start speaking fluent Silicon Valley gibberish.
You don’t need to know the difference between RAG or MCP, you just need to know your ass from your elbow…
What it means is that AI has moved from interesting toy to normal business tool.
And I’m not talking about giant corporations with innovation departments, kombucha taps, and conference rooms named after planets.
I’m talking about regular small businesses using AI to write faster, follow up better, repurpose content, clean up processes, brainstorm offers, improve customer service, and make marketing slightly less painful.
You know. The useful stuff.
You Don’t Need a Full AI Transformation
One of the fastest ways to scare a small business owner is to tell them they need an “AI transformation strategy.”
Yikes.
Most people don’t need a transformation.
They need Tuesday afternoon to suck a little less.
Start with one annoying thing in your business that keeps stealing your time.
Maybe it’s writing your weekly email. Maybe it’s turning a video into a LinkedIn post. Maybe it’s creating social content without sounding like a motivational poster hanging in a dentist’s office. (The kitty “hang in there” photo comes to mind!)
Maybe it’s summarizing client calls, organizing ideas, researching prospects, drafting proposals, or finally getting a follow-up sequence out of your head and into the real world.
Pick one thing.
That’s your assignment.
Because September Is Coming
The fall business season has a funny way of arriving at full speed.
Clients come back from vacation. Prospects wake up. Calendars fill. Everybody suddenly remembers the goals they confidently wrote down in January.
And the window between Labor Day and the holidays gets very real, very fast.
“I’ve been meaning to figure out AI” is not much of a business strategy.
So August isn’t the time to panic.
It’s the time to sharpen the pencils.
If you’ve been away from AI, get back in.
If you tried ChatGPT six months ago, got some weird generic answer, and decided the whole thing was useless, try again. These tools are changing ridiculously fast.
And if you’ve been dabbling, stop dabbling.
Turn one useful AI task into a repeatable habit.
No giant digital transformation. No 47-tool technology stack. No robot butler named Chad.
Just something that saves you time or helps you make money.
Here’s Your Homework
Before the end of August, choose one AI tool and one business task.
Then use it three times.
Not once. Once is curiosity.
Three times gives you enough repetition to start understanding whether the thing actually helps.
Use it to draft.
Use it to edit.
Use it to summarize a client conversation.
Use it to research.
Use it to clean up your messaging.
Use it to repurpose something you’ve already created.
Use it to turn one video into five useful marketing assets instead of letting it die quietly on YouTube with 37 views and your sister’s thumbs-up.
By September, you should have one small AI habit that makes your business easier to run.
That’s it.
No cape required.
The Real AI Advantage
Here’s what I think a lot of people still misunderstand.
The businesses adopting AI aren’t necessarily smarter than you.
They’re moving.
And movement has a funny way of beating, “I’ll get around to that eventually.”
AI isn’t going to magically fix a crappy offer, make people trust you, or turn generic content into brilliant marketing.
But it can give a small business leverage that used to require more employees, more money, and more hours.
It can help you get your ideas out faster.
Stay visible.
Follow up.
Create content.
Serve customers.
Research opportunities.
And spend more of your time doing the work that actually requires a functioning human being.
That’s a pretty good trade.
FOBO Is Real
I’ve been calling it FOBO: Fear of Becoming Obsolete.
And I think a lot of experienced business owners are feeling it, even if they’d never call it that.
There’s a nagging little voice saying:
Am I falling behind?
Are younger competitors figuring this out faster than I am?
Is AI making what I know less valuable?
Am I going to wake up one morning and discover the market moved on without me?
Those are legitimate questions.
The solution isn’t becoming an AI fanatic.
The solution is becoming AI-capable.
Know enough to use the tools where they help. Keep your judgment, experience, personality, and expertise firmly in the driver’s seat.
Because AI can create an endless supply of average.
Your experience is still the differentiator.
Class Is Back in Session
Consider this your back-to-school reminder from the guy who spent most of his actual school years staring out the window waiting for the bell to ring.
AI is on the syllabus now.
You don’t need to ace the whole course this week.
You do need to show up.
So before September:
Pick one AI tool. Pick one annoying business task. Use it three times.
Keep what works.
Dump what doesn’t.
Then walk into the fall business season like you actually meant to be there.
And maybe, just maybe, we can finally put FOBO in detention.
Lou Bortone is a Certified AI Consultant, video marketing strategist, author, and former Hollywood television executive. He helps experts, entrepreneurs, and small business owners use AI and video to stay visible, relevant, trusted, and paid in a rapidly changing marketplace.
He hosts AI Today and is the author of Refuse to Be Irrelevant. Around here, you can also call him America’s Favorite AI Guy, helping make AI practical, useful, and considerably less annoying.
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