Big Tech’s AI race will save small business owners time. It won’t find them customers | Fortune

Meta, Google, OpenAI and Anthropic are competing to become the default AI assistant for small business owners, but the tools primarily deliver time savings rather than customer acquisition, according to Alignable CEO Eric Groves. Groves, whose networking platform serves small business owners and whose AI assistant Allie is cited in the piece, argues the productivity gains from Big Tech's AI race do not address the harder problem of finding new customers. The distinction matters because small businesses typically adopt technology based on its ability to drive revenue, not just efficiency. Watch for whether the platforms add demand-generation features—such as lead matching or marketing automation—to their small business offerings.