Beyond the Hype: Practical AI Strategies for Small and Midsize Businesses

Executive Summary

Artificial intelligence is no longer the exclusive domain of tech giants and billion-dollar enterprises. Today, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) have access to the same transformative technologies; what matters is how they’re applied.

This whitepaper cuts through the hype to offer a grounded, practical framework for SMBs to use AI as a strategic growth engine. Not as a gimmick. Not as an experiment. But as a way to save time, reduce cost, and deliver better service to real customers.

At Halyard Consulting, we’ve worked with SMBs across industries—from media to retail, facilities to education—to design and implement AI solutions that are simple, scalable, and sustainable. Whether it's an AI-powered chatbot that books appointments, a voice assistant that handles overflow calls, or an automation agent that updates your CRM, we build tools that solve real problems.