AI is everywhere right now.
It can write your emails, brainstorm your next offer, help with content, create images, research ideas, and generally make you wonder how you ever managed without it.
But here’s the thing.
Just because AI can do something doesn’t mean your business should do it.
New tools appear seemingly every five minutes, everyone has an opinion about the latest model, and there is an ever growing pressure to “get on board”.
But what if you stopped for a moment and asked a different question?
Not “What can AI do?”
But “What does my business actually need, and how can AI support that well?”
That is where ethical AI comes in.
We recently explored this with Amanda Jeffs from She Is AI, a New Zealand business pioneering ethical AI. 
Meet Amanda Jeffs from She Is AI
Amanda Jeffs is the founder of She Is AI, a New Zealand business helping people worldwide understand how to adopt and use AI well, ethically and without the hype.
The business originally grew from a community focused on women in AI. It created a space for women to learn, connect, and explore AI from a more human and values-led perspective.
That has since evolved into consulting, education, workshops, and training for businesses wanting to adopt AI thoughtfully.
In simple terms, She Is AI helps businesses move from:
“Everyone’s using AI. What should we do?”
to:
“Here’s how AI fits into our business, and here’s how we can use it responsibly.”
And that distinction is where clarity emerges.
AI can help. It can support. It can save time. But it should not replace the thinking that needs to happen before you use it.
So, if you are wondering how to use AI in a small business, here are Amanda’s 12 practical tips.
12 Practical tips for using AI in a small business
1. Get clear before you use AI
Before asking AI to help, get clear on your business.
Ask yourself:
- What do I do?
- Why do I do it?
- Who do I serve?
- Where am I going?
- What does success look like?
Amanda's view is simple: clarity comes first.
If you cannot clearly articulate your business, AI is unlikely to give you consistently useful results.
Quick takeaway: Your business strategy should come before your AI strategy.
2. Start with the problem
Do not begin by asking, “Which AI tool should I try?”
Start with:
Where am I losing time?
What tasks are repetitive?
What work is getting in the way of more valuable work?
Once you identify a genuine business problem, you can decide whether AI is actually the right solution.
Quick takeaway: Problem first. Tool second.
3. Start small with low-risk tasks
You do not need to hand your entire business over to AI on day one. 
Amanda suggests starting with useful, relatively low-risk tasks such as:
- Emails
- Content ideas
- Brainstorming
- Carousels
- Reels
- Other time-consuming work
Quick takeaway: Pick one useful task and learn from there.
4. Treat AI like a new employee
AI is not a magic box.
Think of it like a new employee who needs to learn during an onboarding process. AI needs to understand:
- Context
- Instructions
- Clear expectations
- Feedback
And, just like an employee, you should check its work.
Quick takeaway: The better you explain your business, the more useful AI can become.
5. Give AI the context it needs
If you want AI to sound like your business, give it information about your business.
That might include:
- Your brand voice
- Your ideal clients
- Your offers
- Your website
- What you do
- What you do not do
- How you communicate
Otherwise, you may end up sounding suspiciously like every other business on the internet. 
Quick takeaway: Context helps AI support your voice rather than replace it.
6. Choose the right tool for the job
You do not need every AI tool on the market.
Different AI models have different strengths, whether that is writing and strategy, research, or images.
Before choosing a tool, ask: What do I actually need it to do?
Quick takeaway: Choose AI based on the task, not the trend or the latest news headline.
7. Keep human judgement in charge
AI can produce impressive results, but that does not mean everything it produces is correct.
Check it.
Correct it.
Refine it.
You are still responsible for deciding whether the output is:
- Accurate
- Appropriate
- Useful
- Aligned with your business
Quick takeaway: AI can assist with the work. You retain the judgement.
8. Protect your business data
Before uploading information into an AI tool, pause.
Ask:
- Is this personal, confidential, or commercially sensitive information?
- Where is this information going?
- How might it be used?
Convenience is not always a good enough reason to hand over valuable business information.
Quick takeaway: The more sensitive the data, the more deliberate your decision should be.
9. Think about the ethics of your AI content
Just because AI can create something does not automatically mean you should use it.
Amanda specifically challenges AI generated imagery that reinforces narrow stereotypes around women's appearance.
Before publishing AI generated content, ask: Does this reflect my business values?
Quick takeaway: Ethical AI is about what you create as well as what data you share.
10. Keep the human at the heart of your brand
AI does not have to become the face of your business.
Amanda prefers genuine human representation, such as using real photographs of yourself and using AI to support the surrounding content.
For business owners and personal brands, that human connection matters.
Quick takeaway: Let AI support your brand without erasing the person behind it. 
11. Set some rules around how AI is used
If you have a team, avoid creating an AI Wild West.
Amanda recommends establishing a central “source of truth” around how AI is used.
Your AI policy might answer:
- Who uses which tools?
- What are they used for?
- What can AI agents access?
- Where does data go?
- Who manages the tools?
- Who is responsible?
Quick takeaway: AI governance is simply sensible business governance applied to AI.
12. Measure whether AI is actually helping. or not
Finally, do not assume AI is valuable simply because it is clever.
Look at the results.
Ask:
- Is it saving time?
- Is it reducing paperwork?
- Is it improving the output?
- Is it making a process more efficient?
- Is there a genuine return on investment?
Quick takeaway: Focus on actual results rather than AI hype. 
The Bottom Line
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Amanda's approach is that ethical AI does not mean avoiding AI. It means using it deliberately.
The best way to use AI in a small business is to start with the business, not the technology.
So, by all means, explore AI.
Just do not let the shiny new robot subscription become your business strategy. 
Get in touch with Amanda Jeffs from She Is AI
Website: sheisai.ai
Email: sheisai@sheisai.ai
Facebook: facebook.com/sheisaiofficial Instagram: instagram.com/sheisai.ai
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sheisai
