(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Here are five things in tech that happened this week and how they affect your small business. Did you miss them?
This Week in Small Business Tech News
Small Business Technology News #1 — Intuit launches AI-powered ERP solution tailored for construction industry.
Intuit has launched a new Construction Edition for its Intuit Enterprise Suite. It’s an AI-native ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution to support the complex needs of mid-market construction companies. Designed to combine project, financial, and operational workflows in one system, it includes AI-powered processes and industry-specific tools such as cost proposals, invoicing and budgeting. (Source: Intuit)
Why this is important for your small business:
Intuit has been rolling out its Enterprise Suite over the past year or so in an effort to not only compete more at the mid-market level but to also provide a path for businesses that are growing out of QuickBooks to scale to something easier and more familiar. The company faces formidable competition and a branding challenge as it’s more well-known for providing software to mostly small businesses. But my clients have been saying good thing about the product and the strategy to verticalize its offerings makes sense. If you’re a construction business using QuickBooks and growing out of it, you should definitely take a hard look at this offering. It may be the path of least resistance for you to scale your accounting system.
Small Business Technology News #2 — A ‘ChatGPT for spreadsheets’ helps solve difficult engineering challenges faster.
MIT engineers created a new AI-driven optimization method that works like a “ChatGPT for spreadsheets” — a tabular foundation model designed to handle spreadsheet-style data common in engineering design problems. According to the article, researchers worked on refining the task of testing complex designs — like power grid optimization and vehicle design. The AI system identifies which design variables matter most and focuses search efforts on those, making problem solving less cumbersome. After testing 60 sample problems, the researchers’ model consistently found the best solution anywhere from 10 to 100 times faster in comparison to other algorithms. Researchers plan to do future testing to see how their model performs in higher degrees of complexity. (Source: MIT News)
Why this is important for your small business:
For now the business world has to use Copilot for Excel or Gemini for Google Sheets or play with a myriad of AI add-ons to these spreadsheets which, in the end, mostly provide analysis and can perform basic agentic tasks. Given what the MIT researchers are doing — and others I’m sure — the future for spreadsheets looks grim. Most work will be done using generative AI interfaces with the final output in some sort of spreadsheet form. But the days of adding columns, creating pivot tables and learning macros will be soon ending.
Small Business Technology News #3 — A husband and wife company — 14.ai — is replacing customer support teams at startups.
14.ai — a new AI-driven company founded by a husband-and-wife team — has raised $3 million in early round funding with support led by start-up investor Y Combinator. Marie Schneegans and Michael Fester created 14.ai to operate as an AI customer service agency that takes over an entire start-up’s support operations. The system fully manages customer support, integrating with a client’s support systems (email, chat, social media, calls, TikTok, WhatsApp, etc.) and can clear a ticket backlog within a day according to its founders. The primary objective is to relieve a start-up’s financial costs of support ticketing tools, AI software add-ons, and human labor. (Source: TechCrunch)
Why this is important for your small business:
It’s a worthy ambition and worth a try, particularly if you’re starting up and trying to scale a company with minimal resources. Because 14.ai is a startup itself I’m betting both founders would be open to deeper collaboration with their customers as they also try to figure out what works best for their platform. That’s another advantage for a startup looking to figure out a customized support and service system.
Small Business Technology News #4 — Siteimprove launches new AI agents to power search and accessibility.
Agentic content intelligence platform Siteimprove has added AI-driven agents to its suite of tools, designed to help organizations improve search, accessibility compliance, and content insights. Features include a Conversational Analytics Agent that lets users discover key insights and data using natural language questions. The agent can also offer recommendations when working with campaigns. A PDF and Image Accessibility Agent uses an AI-powered scanning capability to analyze PDFs and images to catch errors or anomalies. The Keyword Intelligence Agent enhances topic intelligence to help content rank better in search data, offering growth opportunities. These tools give teams an advantage to elevate their digital footprint while ensuring accessibility. (Source: MarTech Cube)
Why this is important for your small business:
My web developer is a nice guy, but I do fear for his future. And he’ll admit that he’s no SEO expert. I need to use this tool for my business — or ask him to use it for me.
Small Business Technology News #5 — Half of firms that cut customer service staff for AI to rehire by 2027: Gartner
IT research firm Gartner has released new data on companies that reduced headcount of their customer service employees while leveraging AI. According to their projection, 50 percent of companies that reduced customer service staffing — indicating AI as the reason — are expected to rehire employees to perform similar roles by 2027. Realizations around AI’s limitations is cited as the primary cause for this shift. A 2025 Gartner survey of 321 customer service leaders found that only 20 percent reported cutting staff explicitly because of AI. The bigger picture indication is many companies will shift toward hybrid models where automation handles routine tasks and humans support high-value interactions. (Source: TechRepublic)
Why this is important for your small business:
There’s no question that AI can automate parts of customer service and I’m sure there’s ROI for doing that. Many large companies are starting to see some success. But in the end — and depending on the issue — humans want to speak to humans.
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
