(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Here are five things in small business technology news that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
This Week in Small Business Technology News
Small Business Technology News #1 — OpenAI exec envisions brands running ads by prompting ChatGPT.
In a recent interview, Asad Awan — OpenAI’s head of monetization — outlined a future where businesses could run and manage advertising campaigns through ChatGPT simply by talking to it (just like you currently ask it questions.) Rather than relying on complex ad platforms or hiring agencies, a business would tell ChatGPT what they want to achieve — e.g., sell more products in a region, stay within a budget — and the AI would suggest and run ads; optimize bids; experiment and recommend improvements all through conversation. Because many small businesses spend significant money on marketing and often need outside specialists to run effective campaigns (about $78,000 per year according to an Intuit report), ChatGPT would reduce costs and technical know-how, allowing business owners to focus on other priorities. (Source: The Keyword)
Why this is important for your small business:
This isn’t surprising, given the AI tools already in existence to help small business owners create websites and perform other tasks. But the more concerning issue is how ChatGPT will prioritize those ads. If a user asks AI for an answer to a question, will that answer be biased towards the largest advertiser? And — like it is today with Google Ads — will small businesses be shut out because they can’t spend as much big brands?
Small Business Technology News #2 — A new AI tool combines ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and more.
ChatPlayground AI is an all-in-one platform that lets you run the same prompt across multiple AI models at once — including tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek, and others — inside a single dashboard. This allows users to compare model responses side-by-side in real time; upload PDFs or images for analysis; generate text or images, all from one interface. (Source: PCMag)
Why this is important for your small business:
According to the article, for people using AI for business tasks (writing, research, coding, content creation), the platform aims not only reduce subscription costs but also improve output quality by letting you “cross-check” multiple AI responses instantly.
Small Business Technology News #3 — These 3 popular password managers are insecure, researchers find.
Security researchers from ETH Zurich and Università della Svizzera italiana analyzed widely used cloud-based password managers and found serious security flaws in these services: Bitwarden; LastPass; and Dashlane. Researchers demonstrated multiple attack methods that could let an attacker view or even alter stored passwords under certain conditions. They tested these by mimicking a compromised server environment –essentially showing what could happen if an attacker controlled the backend infrastructure. The number of successful attack vectors varied: 12 on Bitwarden, 7 on LastPass, and 6 on Dashlane. According to the research teams, the source of these security flaws is outdated cryptographic technology. (Source: PCWorld)
Why this is important for your small business:
This kind of story both angers and terrifies me. I rely heavily on a password manager (thankfully, not one of the ones above) and store my most private info there. If it were to get hacked I would have a serious problem. So that terrifies me. But what angers me is how this can happen. How can these platforms allow their servers to get compromised? How can their cryptographic technology become “outdated?”
Small Business Technology News #4 — WordPress’ new AI assistant will let users edit their sites with prompts.
WordPress has introduced an “AI Assistant” that will allow users to make changes to their sites just by making requests, similar to other AI platforms. (Source: The Verge)
Why this is important for your small business:
According to the report, the assistant is integrated directly into its site editor that lets users modify and manage their websites using natural language prompts instead of digging through menus and settings. With simple commands, users can tell the assistant to rewrite content, translate text, or adjust design elements (like fonts or layouts) by typing what they want. The assistant can generate or edit images directly in the media library using Google’s Nano Banana AI models. Users must enable “AI tools” in their site settings to access the assistant. For sites built with WordPress’s AI website builder, it’s turned on automatically. This move embeds conversational AI directly into the web-editing workflow, potentially making site maintenance and design changes faster and easier.
Small Business Technology News #5 –Real-life examples of artificial intelligence in construction.
AI’s use in the construction industry is increasing with more companies leaning into AI tools for automated takeoffs, safety monitoring, drone based surveying and predictive equipment maintenance. (Source: Stack)
Why this is important for your small business:
We’re still in the early stages but there’s no question that many construction companies are getting more serious about AI in their business. The good news is that both software and hardware vendors are rolling out new products with AI functionality included. If you’re running a construction business it’s important to talk to your technology partners and understand what they’re offering that can help increase productivity and profitability.
Each week I round up five small business technology news stories and explain why they’re important for your business. If you have any interesting stories, please post to my X account @genemarks
