(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Let’s Recap:
- Uber is having a hard time justifying AI
- Starbucks cancels its AI inventory system
- OpenAI pushes back on the job apocalypse
- TikTok shoppers are buying
- The 20 best AI tools for your business
Uber’s COO is struggling to justify the ROI of AI. Can you blame him?
Big companies have been making significant investments in AI, and Uber is rethinking that strategy. According to president and COO Andrew Macdonald, he has yet to see measurable improvements via the enhanced features delivered to its customer base from higher “token consumption” (AI usage). “That link is not there yet,” Macdonald said. According to their CTO, the company spent its entire 2026 AI budget on Claude Code alone just a few months into the year — a jarring stat for Macdonald. He shared that it triggered “company-wide conversations” about the cost of AI and what is compromised (e.g., headcount) to sustain it. Until the ROI is evident, Uber will be reassessing their investment strategy. “We’re going to have to start talking about token consumption and the associated cost versus headcount,” Macdonald said. (Source: Quartz)
Why this is important for your small business:
As a small business owner, aren’t you feeling better about your decision to tread lightly into the AI world? Big companies continue to spend big on AI and the results continue to underwhelm. Besides hallucinations and inaccuracies, now we’re starting to hear that the actual cost of using some of these platforms can be pretty high and justifying ROI isn’t easy for some, like Uber. The takeaway is that there’s still a ways to go before AI is really a useful thing. It will happen, but let’s let the big guys spend their money first to figure this out.
Starbucks ditches its AI inventory system after only 9 months. It’s still not better than people.
Starbucks has dropped its AI inventory management system in less than a year since its integration. Designed to improve the company’s ability to stay on top of inventory and reduce shortages, Starbucks employees have described the system as “unreliable.” Announced in September of last year — and part of CEO Brian Niccol’s strategy to improve the chain’s issues with product shortages — the system was intended to “support accuracy and product availability.” However, miscounted items and mislabeled products were the end result causing the coffee giant to remove some of its promotional material after the problems became apparent. According to reports, employees expressed their gratitude that their experiences with inaccuracies by the technology were heard. (Source: Restaurant Dive)
Why this is important for your small business:
The report warns against blindly relying on technology without exhaustive testing. That’s a good suggestion. Regardless of whether AI is being used, it’s important to run systems in parallel for an appropriate time to gauge whether or not they’re actually going to be reliable in the long run.
Sam Altman isn’t worried about a job apocalypse and that’s not surprising.
With Pope Leo’s recent comments about the serious risks of AI, it may simply be coincidental that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has altered his outlook on the impending job losses as a result of AI. On Tuesday at a conference in Sydney, Australia, Altman stated that the projections he and his company made about the socioeconomic impact of AI were “pretty wrong” — and the technology hasn’t caused the widespread job destruction that many expected. “I’m delighted to be wrong about this,” Altman said while noting the “human part” of work still matters a lot more than many technologists anticipated. He shared a personal example of using AI to respond to answer Slack and emails and has found people prefer direct human interaction. (Source: Reuters)
Why this is important for your small business:
My comments on this are here. Like anyone in the industry, I’m not professing to know where this is all heading because there’s no way to know. You would expect the CEO of OpenAI to be bullish on AI and downplaying fears — the opposite from him could create terror. Will all of these jobs disappear? It probably won’t be apocalyptic. But history shows that technology replaces people, and the AI wave is clearly going to have the same effect.
TikTok is now a viable destination to sell your products.
TikTok Shop has produced strong results for thousands of small business owners. The numbers that were published in Modern Retail showed that sales for SMBs with less than $15 million in revenue increased 66 percent on TikTok Shop. Launched in September 2023, the platform has grown with over 215,000 small business owners — up 25 percent (44,000 SMBs) from the prior year. The numbers — pulled from a GlobalData survey of 6,000 consumers — showed that 67 percent of consumers go to TikTok Shop to find new products — more than Amazon (57 percent) and search engines (35 percent). (Source: The Keyword)
Why this is important for your small business:
The key metric here is that 70 percent of TikTok-ers said they purchased products based on recommendations. As the data shows, TikTok is evolving into a competitive shopping platform and offers a profitable avenue for small business owners. When you’re running a small business it’s critical to sell your products through multiple channels in order to reach as wide an audience as possible. TikTok is clearly becoming yet another of those channels.
Maybe, just maybe, one of these 20 AI tools can help your business.
Intuit published its list of the 20 best AI tools for businesses. With the overload of tools that are out there, Intuit is “cutting through the noise” with a guide to help you select which ones fit specific workflows, budgets, and operational needs. Examples from the list include Tableau GPT for data analysis, ChatGPT for content creation, Zendesk AI for customer support, and Salesforce Einstein for sales and marketing tasks. For small businesses seeking fast and effective help to improve overall productivity, automate operations, and expand services, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce listed five B2B AI startups that are focused on solving practical business problems. According to the article, all five were chosen because of their specific focus on small businesses and delivering applications to improve efficiency and help operations stay competitive. To learn more about each company and their founders visit the link. (Source: Intuit; US Chamber of Commerce)
Why this is important for your small business:
Want to use AI in your business? Lean into your office platform, learn the functions provided by your main software providers and explore some of the apps mentioned in both articles above.
Note: Have a technology story that small business owners should know about? Don’t mind me sharing my opinion? Share it with me on X @genemarks.
