Artificial Intelligence is reshaping industries at a pace incomprehensible to even those in-the-know. For small businesses and in-house design or communications teams, the conversation is no longer if AI belongs in the workplace, but how it can be used most effectively. The question of efficiency is not about replacing human creativity. It is about keeping human intelligence at the forefront of creation.
Recent data aligns with this shift.
- A 2025 report found that 43% of small businesses use 4-6 AI tools each week, primarily for marketing, design, and communications.
- The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that 63% of all small employers think the utilization of AI technologies in their industry in the next five years will be important.
- The NFIB also reported that 98% of small businesses using AI technology reported that its use had no change in the number of employees in their business.
“Small business owners are our nation’s top source of innovation, yet many struggle to keep up with technological advancements.”
Holly Wade, Executive Director of the NFIB Research Center
Staying on top of AI trends and tools can be draining for creatives and CEOs alike. One service Profectionate provides helps small business owners integrate AI in ways that elevate their business strategy.
AI as an assistant, not a replacement
The narrative that AI will “take creative jobs” looms over the creative field. When Adobe released their Firefly advertisement and keynote pushing AI tools and one-click rebrand opportunity, graphic designers and marketers around the world shuddered and felt fear in their hearts.
Without strategic input around the why, AI tools blatantly and shamelessly pushed onto users will regurgitate poorly executed and computerized designs, quickly, sure, but void of human essence and in line with the Anti-AI “ick” heard ’round the world.
AI Marketing Campaigns: The 2025 Playbook for Strategy and Brand Benchmarks shows 10 examples of huge brands leveraging marketing teams using AI to streamline repetitive work and implement human-decided strategy. This frees up time for humans to focus on storytelling, design innovation, and brand discovery.
AI carries significant data privacy, copyright, and brand voice dilution concerns. Constant human oversight and strategy are required, which technology companies pushing AI fail to mention to unsuspecting users.
AI should not eliminate creative work. It should make space for deeper creative thinking.
Case study: Building a smart strategy for a one-person photography business
A recent Profectionate client illustrates perfectly what is possible when AI is paired with a solid communication framework. Profectionate’s Founder, Conner Dickson, APR, developed a comprehensive communications plan for Juniper Woods Creations that defined the brand’s tone, target audiences, messaging cadence, and distribution channels. The plan included monthly goals, media priorities, messaging templates, and instructions for implementation.
Once this foundation was set, Conner trained the client in using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to support ongoing content development. Using human-created brand identity, human-created voice, style, flair, and aesthetic principles, ChatGPT could be prompted for effective scaled posts, captions, and marketing copy that stayed consistent with Juniper Woods Creations’ specific brand identity and communications strategy.
The result? A self-sustaining communications system. Juniper Woods Creations is a one-person photography business with a massive wait list. The owner spends all of her time completing the core deliverables of her business: photography (setting, organizing, photographing, editing, delivering, marketing), and her AI digital assistant takes the repetitive low-hanging fruit off her plate.
This is where technology meets empowerment.
Where strategy flourishes in this brave new world
The balance between automation and authenticity lies at the heart of modern, human public relations. In Public Relations and the Rise of AI (Luttrell & Wallace, 1st Ed.), Luttrell emphasizes that the most forward-thinking communicators are those who view AI not as a creative threat, not as something to soon disappear, but as a strategic extension of human capability.
AI cannot replace our intuition, empathy, nor contextual storytelling that defines effective communications and design. AI can analyze sentiment, optimize media timing, and scale repeatable tasks.
How can AI help your business become more efficient?