Issue #7: 76% of small businesses use AI. Only 14% actually have it working.

Goldman Sachs just published the most honest data on AI adoption we've seen. Here's what it actually means for you.

There's a stat making the rounds this week that stopped me mid-scroll. Goldman Sachs surveyed 1,256 small business owners across all 50 states and found this: 76% are using AI in some form. 93% say it's having a positive impact. But only 14% have actually integrated it into their core operations.

That gap — between "using AI" and "having AI work for you" — is exactly what this newsletter exists to close.

There's no single tool that fixes the integration gap. It's a systems problem, not a software problem. But there are three tools that, used together, move you from "I sometimes use ChatGPT" to "AI is actually running parts of my business."

Notion AI — your thinking and planning layer. Use it to store your SOPs, meeting notes, project plans, and business context. Notion AI can then search, summarise, and generate new content based on everything your business has ever documented. It becomes your institutional memory.

Zapier — your automation layer. Connects your tools and triggers AI actions automatically. A new lead comes in → Zapier fires → AI drafts a personalised follow-up → email sends. No human involved.

Claude or ChatGPT — your execution layer. The AI that actually writes, thinks, and generates. The key difference between casual users and integrated users is having a saved system prompt — a detailed brief about your business, your voice, your customers — that you paste at the start of every session. That's what makes the output consistent and useful instead of generic.

The verdict: These three tools together cost under $50/month and cover thinking, automation, and execution. That's the foundation of a working AI stack for a small business.

A small HR consulting firm in Chicago — 3 employees, 30+ clients — was using ChatGPT casually. Someone would open it occasionally to draft an email or summarise a document. They called themselves "AI users." Then they actually integrated it.

They built a Notion workspace with every client's background, every SOP, every template they'd ever made. They set up Zapier automations for intake, follow-ups, and invoicing. They created a detailed system prompt for Claude that knew their firm's voice, their service offerings, and their clients' industries.

Six weeks later: 11 hours of admin saved per week, faster client onboarding, and zero new hires needed despite taking on 8 new clients. The difference wasn't the tools — they were already using some of them. The difference was actually integrating them.

Don't try to automate everything at once. One integration that actually works is worth more than ten half-built ones.

"Why do I need all three tools? Can't I just use ChatGPT for everything?"

You can — and most people do, which is why most people are in the 76% who "use AI" and not the 14% who have it working. ChatGPT is the execution layer. It writes and thinks. But it has no memory of your business between sessions, it can't trigger actions automatically, and it can't organise your institutional knowledge. Notion handles the memory. Zapier handles the triggers. ChatGPT handles the execution. Each tool does one thing well. Together they make AI actually useful instead of occasionally helpful.

For context: Goldman Sachs found that 73% of small business owners said they'd benefit from more training and resources to implement AI. That $50/month stack, used properly, is the training. It teaches you by doing.

This week: write your business brief. One page. What your business does, who your customers are, your tone, your three most repeated tasks. Don't open any AI tool until you've written it. That document is the thing most small business owners skip — and it's the reason they stay in the 76% instead of joining the 14%.

The Goldman Sachs survey was published this week and the numbers are striking. 93% positive impact, 14% full integration. The three biggest barriers small business owners cited: data privacy concerns (50%), lack of technical expertise (49%), and difficulty choosing the right tools (48%). That last one is exactly what this newsletter is for. You don't need to understand how AI works. You need to know which tools to use and in what order. That's it.

Any AI course, bootcamp, or certification that promises to teach you everything about AI before you start using it. The 14% who have AI working in their businesses didn't study their way there — they built their way there. Start with one tool, one task, one automation. The learning happens in the doing.

Knowing how to use AI is one thing. Knowing what to use it for — which tasks actually move revenue — is another.

Justin French's free newsletter The Dojo Journal covers exactly that intersection: sales and marketing strategy for small business owners who want to work smarter, not just harder. Worth the five minutes a week.

→ Subscribe free here 👇

Until next issue, Kris

The Layman's AI — The only AI updates your business actually needs.