Seattle AI Consultant

Tag: Blogging

  • How Small Business Owners Are Really Using AI (According to Reddit)

    How Small Business Owners Are Really Using AI (According to Reddit)

    Every once in a while, I come across a Reddit thread that feels like a goldmine—and this one definitely fit the bill. Titled “How did you use AI to improve your small business?” the post sparked an open, practical discussion among entrepreneurs, freelancers, and solo founders. It wasn’t just theory or hype—it was real people using AI in the trenches.

    I wanted to summarize the most interesting and upvoted responses here because honestly, I think these ideas can inspire a lot of us running small businesses. AI can feel overwhelming at times, but this thread reminded me that it doesn’t have to be complicated to be impactful.

    1. Automating the Annoying Stuff

    Let’s start with the most obvious use case: automating repetitive tasks. One of the top comments came from a user who said:

    “I use ChatGPT to write email templates, generate marketing copy, and respond to customer inquiries. It saves me hours every week.”

    Another person added that they had set up an AI to summarize customer feedback from reviews and emails:

    “It pulls in all our feedback, highlights themes, and suggests changes to our FAQ and product pages. It’s like having a junior marketing analyst who never sleeps.”

    Honestly, this is one of the most practical ways I use AI in my own workflow too. Whether it’s summarizing meeting notes or writing social captions, tools like ChatGPT or Claude have quietly become my digital assistants.

    2. Content Creation & SEO

    Content is still king—and AI is helping folks crank it out faster than ever.

    One Redditor wrote:

    “We use AI to generate outlines for blog posts, then flesh them out manually. It speeds up the content process by about 70%.”

    Another chimed in:

    “I use Jasper to create product descriptions and landing page copy. Then I tweak it to match our tone. It’s a good balance of speed and human touch.”

    Several commenters emphasized the importance of not just copying and pasting AI output. They saw it as a starting point—a first draft that still needed a human to shape and polish it. That resonated with me. AI isn’t about replacing your voice—it’s about giving you a head start.

    3. Leveling Up Customer Support

    A few users mentioned using AI-powered chatbots for handling basic customer queries.

    “We implemented a chatbot for our e-commerce site. It answers common questions about shipping, returns, and sizing. Our support tickets dropped by 40%.”

    Another interesting use case: AI-generated video tutorials based on product FAQs.

    “I upload FAQ text and AI turns it into video walkthroughs with voiceover. It makes us look way more professional than we are!”

    The lesson here? Customers appreciate fast, helpful responses—and AI is giving small businesses a way to provide that without needing a 10-person support team.

    4. Boosting Social Media Output

    Social media was another big area where AI is making waves. One user shared:

    “I use AI to generate daily post ideas, write captions, and even suggest hashtags. It’s helped me be consistent, which is half the battle.”

    Another added that they used AI to turn blog posts into Instagram carousel slides and LinkedIn posts. Repurposing content is smart marketing—and AI is making it easier to do more with less.

    5. Data Crunching for Non-Data People

    This was probably one of the more underrated takeaways. Several commenters mentioned using AI to analyze business data they didn’t fully understand before.

    “I upload spreadsheets to ChatGPT and ask questions like ‘What trends do you see?’ or ‘Which products are underperforming?’ It’s like having a data scientist in my pocket.”

    This blew me away. So many of us sit on data but don’t know how to act on it. AI can act as a translator—turning raw numbers into insights and action steps.

    My Takeaway

    Reading through all these responses, what struck me was how many different ways people are using AI—even in tiny one-person shops. It’s not always flashy or futuristic. Often, it’s just about saving time, improving consistency, or helping us focus on the stuff that actually matters.

    What’s encouraging is that many of the most valuable uses for AI in small business don’t require any outside help. Tools like Gemini for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 Copilot are already built into systems a lot of us use every day. With a little exploration, business owners can automate emails, analyze spreadsheets, draft proposals, and more—completely on their own.

    That said, things can get more complex as your needs grow. Maybe you’re trying to integrate AI into multiple parts of your business, or you’re using a tool but feel like you’re only scratching the surface. When that happens—and it often does—that’s where working with someone like me can help.

    As an AI consultant based in Seattle, I help small business owners make smarter, more strategic use of these tools. Whether it’s improving workflows, creating custom AI-driven solutions, or just getting the most out of what you already have, my goal is to make AI feel practical, approachable, and impactful.

    And if you’ve already got an AI workflow that’s helping your business? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment or shoot me an email—I’m always looking for more real-world examples to feature.

  • From Blog Builder to Business Backbone? The Rise and Limits of WordPress in the No-Code Era

    From Blog Builder to Business Backbone? The Rise and Limits of WordPress in the No-Code Era

    When we talk about no-code development today, the conversation quickly turns to platforms like Bubble, Webflow, and Make. But long before these tools emerged, one name quietly led the charge in democratizing website creation: WordPress.

    WordPress launched in 2003 as a blogging tool. Over time, thanks to its open-source roots and plugin-based architecture, it became a popular platform for everything from personal blogs to small business websites. For a long stretch in the 2000s and early 2010s, WordPress was the web—powering over 40% of websites online by the mid-2020s.

    I find this fascinating because, in many ways, WordPress was the original no-code tool. It allowed non-programmers to spin up websites using themes, plug in functionality like shopping carts or contact forms, and manage content without writing a single line of code. The ecosystem was rich with plugins like Elementor (a visual page builder), WooCommerce (for e-commerce), and Advanced Custom Fields (for structured content). The result? Tens of millions of people, many with no technical background, were able to publish and grow their digital presence.

    But as the no-code movement gained steam—particularly around 2018 and beyond—WordPress started to feel… stuck. While newer platforms were being built from the ground up for visual programming, integrations, and automation, WordPress was still tethered to its blogging legacy and PHP-based architecture.

    Let’s unpack this a bit.

    WordPress: A Pioneering No-Code Platform

    The original no-code promise of WordPress was empowering. Entrepreneurs, small businesses, nonprofits—you name it—could launch a web presence cheaply and quickly. Page builder plugins like Divi, Beaver Builder, and Elementor extended its no-code reach by offering visual drag-and-drop editing. Services like WP Engine and Bluehost made deployment easier than ever.

    For many years, this was enough. And to be clear, it still is—for the right use case. WordPress remains an excellent platform for simple landing pages, personal blogs, and content-focused websites. In fact, this very site is built on WordPress because my goal is to manage blog content quickly and easily without unnecessary overhead.

    Some clients also prefer WordPress for its familiarity and ease of use, and when that’s the case, my no-code app development consultancy is happy to recommend it. It’s still one of the best tools out there for fast, content-first publishing.

    Where WordPress Falls Short for Sophisticated Applications

    That said, today’s businesses often want more than a static site or content platform. They want dashboards. Internal tools. Multi-user portals. Smart workflows that span email, CRM, databases, and AI integrations. And this is where WordPress starts to show its age:

    • Plugin overload: Achieving complex functionality often means stitching together a dozen or more plugins, each with its own settings and compatibility quirks. It’s like building a car from parts that weren’t made to work together.
    • Scalability issues: WordPress wasn’t designed as a platform for dynamic applications with real-time data or advanced logic. The more custom you get, the more you bump into performance ceilings—or require a developer to hack your way out.
    • Limited logic and automation: Unlike tools like Make, Bubble, or Retool, WordPress doesn’t offer native automation, data pipelines, or visual logic flows. You’re on your own integrating with APIs unless you install yet another plugin—or hire a PHP developer.
    • Security concerns: With so many third-party plugins and themes, WordPress sites are frequent targets for bots and exploits. For business-critical apps, this can be a dealbreaker.

    The New Frontier of No-Code

    If WordPress was the first wave, the new generation of no-code tools is the tsunami. Platforms like Bubble allow you to build full web apps with database-backed logic. Tools like Make and Zapier let you automate operations between platforms with ease. And increasingly, AI is joining the party, letting users describe an app in plain English and receive working prototypes in minutes.

    WordPress still holds value. It’s a reliable, flexible choice for clients who want something familiar, fast, and simple. But if you’re building a truly custom application for your business, it may not be the best fit.

    My Takeaway

    As someone who helps small businesses leverage AI and automation, I often see clients start with WordPress out of habit. But when we dig into their actual needs—custom forms, database logic, user accounts, automation—it becomes clear they’ve outgrown what WordPress is really good at.

    That’s when we start exploring more modern no-code or low-code platforms. WordPress helped bring no-code into the mainstream. But for today’s business apps? It’s often just the beginning of the journey.

  • Why Writing for Business Still Matters—Even in the Age of AI

    Why Writing for Business Still Matters—Even in the Age of AI

    When I first started writing content for Seattle-area professionals and small businesses, I thought I had it all figured out. I had excelled in English during college and grad school, and I was working as a technical writer at Microsoft. Writing was my thing—how hard could it be to write for local businesses?

    Turns out, a lot harder than I expected.

    Writing for business isn’t just about being good with words. It’s about capturing the voice of your client in a way that feels authentic and elevated at the same time. That takes time. Years, in fact. And with all due respect to the clients I worked with in the early days of my freelance career—thank you for your patience while I figured that out.

    What makes this kind of writing so tricky is the listening. To write well for someone else, I have to get to know them: their voice, their story, their values, the language they naturally use when they talk about their work. This isn’t something you can fully capture through a generic intake form. That’s why I still meet with clients one-on-one—whether in person at a Seattle coffee shop, on Zoom, or over the phone. Those conversations give me the raw material to write something that actually sounds like them, not like ChatGPT’s best guess at what a CEO should sound like.

    Now that I work as an AI consultant through my firm, Avanzar, I often get asked if AI can replace a skilled writer. The answer? Not even close. AI can help you write faster, sure—but only if you already know what you’re doing. If you don’t have a solid understanding of your subject matter or a good ear for language, you’ll just end up with fluff. Generic, lifeless content. The kind of writing that sounds like it was written by a bot. Because it was.

    But in the hands of an experienced writer, AI is a golden goose. Not just because it lays golden eggs (fast drafts, sharper headlines, repurposed content in seconds), but because it keeps laying them—consistently, reliably, and with surprisingly little overhead. It can transform a writing process that once took 10 hours into one that takes two. And that time savings means I can do more for my clients, more affordably, and with no dip in quality.

    Here’s a concrete example: I recently worked with a regional logistics company that had no online content strategy at all—just a static homepage and a contact form. I helped them build a lightweight content management system that fit their needs, then used AI to accelerate the production of blog articles that boosted their discoverability on Google. To make the content stand out, I interviewed the CEO personally—several times—to capture their vision for the industry, their long-term priorities, and the unique ways they were navigating supply chain challenges. We turned those insights into thoughtful, forward-looking articles that positioned the company as a leader in their space.

    Some companies might turn to an internal comms specialist or a PR agency to do the same thing, and that’s a valid approach. But those teams are often stretched thin. That’s where I come in. I build AI-powered systems that support internal teams, automate parts of the content workflow, and enhance what your staff is already doing.

    So no, AI won’t replace the art of good writing. But it can make great writing more accessible, more efficient, and more powerful—if you know how to use it. That’s the sweet spot where I work.