How small businesses can win in the AI era

AI is now the first stop for many customer journeys, from brainstorms and searches, to recommendations and planning. Recent research from The Knot Worldwide found that 36% of couples are now actively using AI in their wedding planning—nearly doubling year-over-year—as couples turn to AI platforms for wedding inspiration, writing, and organization.

A couple might use AI to start their wedding planning journey, but as they move closer to choosing a venue or vendor, they naturally look for signals that help them feel confident—authentic reviews, a consistent online presence, and expert content—so that they gain additional context and trust before taking their next step. Weddings in particular are high-stakes, high-emotion events. With the investment being made in such a significant life event, trust and connection with wedding professionals during the planning journey is key.

As AI moves from idea generation into real-world planning and purchasing, expectations rise, but so do the opportunities for small business owners. Because AI accelerates early discovery, it creates that much more space for small businesses to stand out through clarity, responsiveness, and human connection. It also creates another avenue for attracting and retaining new customers.

This trend led to our launch of The Knot within ChatGPT, an app allowing us to meet our customers where they are, while also creating new opportunities for small businesses on our platform to get discovered. Customers want to see that the businesses surfaced on AI platforms have a track record of delivering high-quality services and support.

This behavior isn’t unique to weddings. Across industries, people are using AI to explore possibilities more quickly, but they still rely on human judgment and interaction when decisions carry real weight. Research confirms this isn’t anecdotal: A majority of Americans believe AI should play a role in analytical tasks and forecasting, but want more control when it’s involved in deeply personal decisions.

4 WAYS SMALL BUSINESSES CAN BUILD CONFIDENCE

This is where the advantage shifts for small business owners. It’s not only about being discovered first, but about building confidence as choices start to take shape. Here are four ways to do that.

1. LEVERAGE AI TO CREATE SPACE FOR YOUR EXPERTISE

AI-powered tools are no longer optional; they’re becoming essential to running a modern business. When used well, they can take real pressure off small business owners by handling the administrative burden—from inbox management to initial customer communications—faster and more efficiently. But the goal isn’t automation for its own sake; it’s about creating space for what truly matters to customers. We see this play out across our WeddingPro community, where AI-powered tools help vendors streamline leads and early communication—freeing them up to focus on their craft and the client experience that truly sets their business apart.

2. YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE SHAPES HOW AI DISCOVERS YOUR BUSINESS

While a complete online storefront, clear website, and strong reviews have always been nice to have, in an AI-driven discovery landscape, they now play a much more decisive role. Generative tools will increasingly shape which businesses are surfaced and how. As such, a business’s digital presence is no longer just a brochure, but the information AI systems use to assess credibility. This means understanding how your online presence feeds these systems, and making sure you have up-to-date details, high-quality photos and videos, and a consistent look and feel across communication channels, alongside recent, authentic reviews. These actions serve as key trust signals, influencing whether a business is surfaced and whether a customer feels confident in engaging.

3. SPEED GETS YOU NOTICED, BUT PERSONALIZATION REMAINS KEY

Speed matters, especially early on in the relationship-building process, but attention, tone, and personalization are what build and sustain a relationship with your customers. Within the wedding industry, our data has found that 68% of couples want guests to feel like they’ve never been to a wedding like theirs before, with 36% citing personalized details as what will most likely make a wedding memorable. 

When it comes to finding the right fit and hiring vendors, chemistry is key. Personality is a top deciding factor for guest-facing vendors like DJs and wedding planners, while clear communication and responsiveness are essential for building trust across all vendor relationships. While AI tools enable small business owners to make quick connections, the real win comes by using the time saved to engage in thoughtful follow-up communication and creating a truly memorable experience, especially when expectations are high. This approach will not only help small business owners close the deal, but allow them to differentiate themselves from the competition.

4. MAKE EVERY MOMENT MATTER

In a landscape of endless options, small businesses that consistently demonstrate credibility, consistency, and a deep level of care will always stand out. That confidence is earned not through a single big interaction, but across a hundred small moments: how you answer a nervous question, how you handle a piece of feedback, and how you support your customer from start to finish. And many times, these moments show up across the discovery pipeline—from word-of-mouth recommendations to customer reviews to how you show up on AI platforms—long before a direct conversation begins.

In a world of rapidly changing technology, small businesses can focus on what they already do best: showing up with clarity, credibility, and care when it matters most. This thoughtful approach is what converts a digital discovery into real-world, successful partnerships. AI may open the door, but craft, confidence, and care are what will carry people forward.

Raina Moskowitz is CEO of The Knot Worldwide.