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Key findings
- 155 AI tools and automations for small businesses are in the directory across 10 industries, as of Oct 25, 2026.
- 106 of 155 (68%) are ready-made software you sign up for. The other 49 (32%) are do-it-yourself automations you build with tools like Zapier or n8n.
- 96 of 155 (62%) are rated Easy to set up. That is 92 of 106 ready-made tools (87%), but only 4 of 49 do-it-yourself builds (8%).
- 46 of 155 (30%) help with follow-ups and emails, the most common job. Next are answering calls (19) and booking and scheduling (19).
- $34 a month is the middle starting price for the 58 ready-made tools that list a monthly price. Prices run from $5 to $399 a month, and 21 of them charge per user or per seat.
- 28 of 155 (18%) have an hours-saved number from a source. 11 of those 28 numbers are claims from the company that sells the tool.
- 9 hours a week is the middle hours-saved number among those 28 listings (maker claims: 8; other sources: 10). Some sources count per person or per client, so treat this as a rough guide.
- 60 listings show only our own estimate (marked “est.”, 1 to 4 hours a week), and 67 show no hours number at all.
- 53 of 155 listings mention a free plan, free trial, or free option, and 50 of those 53 also list paid plans or extra costs.
- 26 of 155 (17%) are for home services, the biggest industry in the directory.
- 32 of 155 (21%) link to a source post on X, Reddit, GitHub, or YouTube.
- 0 listings are sponsored. Sponsored listings are always labeled.
The numbers
| Industry | Listings | Share | Ready-made | Do-it-yourself | Easy to set up | Shows a $ price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Services | 26 | 17% | 11 | 15 | 10 | 13 |
| Local Shops & Restaurants | 22 | 14% | 16 | 6 | 14 | 11 |
| Any Business | 17 | 11% | 14 | 3 | 11 | 14 |
| Sales Teams | 16 | 10% | 11 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| Accounting, Bookkeeping & Payroll | 14 | 9% | 10 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Consultants & Coaches | 13 | 8% | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| Agencies & Marketing | 12 | 8% | 8 | 4 | 10 | 9 |
| Insurance & Financial Advisors | 12 | 8% | 12 | 0 | 10 | 7 |
| Real Estate | 12 | 8% | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Health & Wellness | 11 | 7% | 9 | 2 | 9 | 5 |
| All industries | 155 | 100% | 106 | 49 | 96 | 92 |
| Job | Listings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Follow-ups and emails | 46 | 30% |
| Answering calls | 19 | 12% |
| Booking and scheduling | 19 | 12% |
| Other jobs (paperwork, quotes, photos, research, custom apps and more) | 16 | 10% |
| Billing and invoices | 13 | 8% |
| Chat and texting | 9 | 6% |
| Social posts and marketing | 9 | 6% |
| Meeting notes | 7 | 5% |
| Reports and proposals | 7 | 5% |
| Reviews | 5 | 3% |
| Bookkeeping and payroll | 5 | 3% |
| Setup | All listings | Ready-made | Do-it-yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 96 | 92 | 4 |
| Medium | 14 | 4 | 10 |
| Needs setup | 45 | 10 | 35 |
| Cost line | Listings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Shows a monthly $ price | 87 | 56% |
| Shows another $ price (per year, per minute, per seat) | 5 | 3% |
| Comes with a Grok Bot plan | 12 | 8% |
| No $ price shown (check the maker's site or ask for a quote) | 51 | 33% |
| Starting price | Tools | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $25 | 21 | 36% |
| $25 to $99 | 25 | 43% |
| $100 to $249 | 8 | 14% |
| $250 or more | 4 | 7% |
| Label | Listings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Number from the maker (maker claim) | 11 | 7% |
| Number from another source (case study, owner, builder) | 17 | 11% |
| Our estimate only (est.) | 60 | 39% |
| No hours number | 67 | 43% |
| Industry | Listings with a sourced number | Maker claims | Middle number (hrs/wk) | Range (hrs/wk) | Listings with est. only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Services | 5 | 1 | 12 | 7 to 18 | 10 |
| Local Shops & Restaurants | 4 | 2 | 17.5 | 12 to 21 | 10 |
| Any Business | 2 | 0 | 7.5 | 5 to 10 | 7 |
| Sales Teams | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 to 20 | 5 |
| Accounting, Bookkeeping & Payroll | 2 | 1 | 27 | 24 to 30 | 6 |
| Consultants & Coaches | 2 | 0 | 5.2 | 3 to 7.5 | 6 |
| Agencies & Marketing | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3.5 to 12 | 1 |
| Insurance & Financial Advisors | 4 | 4 | 6.2 | 2 to 18 | 1 |
| Real Estate | 0 | 0 | None yet | None yet | 6 |
| Health & Wellness | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 to 20 | 8 |
| Source site | Listings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| X (posts by owners and builders) | 16 | 10% |
| 8 | 5% | |
| GitHub | 6 | 4% |
| YouTube | 2 | 1% |
| Grok Bot Marketplace (x.ai) | 9 | 6% |
| n8n template library and forum | 5 | 3% |
| Zapier blog | 2 | 1% |
| Other websites (maker pages, news stories, case studies) | 107 | 69% |
Every sourced hours-saved number
These 28 listings have an hours-saved number from a source. We show each number the way its source states it.
| Listing | Industry | Hours (as shown) | Label | Note from the source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botkeeper Bookkeeping Helper | Accounting, Bookkeeping & Payroll | 30 hrs/wk | maker claim | for 1 client, vendor claim |
| Invoice Data Entry Bot | Accounting, Bookkeeping & Payroll | 24 hrs/wk | other source | consultant case study |
| Maple AI Phone Orders | Local Shops & Restaurants | ~21 hrs/wk | other source | customer's math |
| Mira Salon AI Receptionist | Local Shops & Restaurants | 20 hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor claim |
| Hot Lead Alert | Sales Teams | ~20 hrs/wk | other source | per rep, consultant case study |
| Missed Call Text-Back for Clinics | Health & Wellness | 20 hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor case study |
| Past Customer Rebooker | Home Services | ~18 hrs/wk | other source | owner's report |
| Carrier Follow-Up Agent | Insurance & Financial Advisors | ~18 hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor claim |
| Roof Lead to Estimate Booker | Home Services | 15 hrs/wk | other source | — |
| Stock Sync Bot | Local Shops & Restaurants | 15+ hrs/wk | other source | — |
| Overnight Social Report Bot | Agencies & Marketing | 12 hrs/wk | other source | — |
| Maple | Local Shops & Restaurants | 12 hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor case study |
| Front Desk Text Drafter | Home Services | ~12 hrs/wk | other source | estimate |
| Lead Sorter and Router | Any Business | 10 hrs/wk | other source | — |
| Zenplus Roof Receptionist | Home Services | 8+ hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor case study |
| Client Report Builder | Agencies & Marketing | 8 hrs/wk | other source | — |
| 5-Minute Client Onboarding | Consultants & Coaches | 5–10 hrs/wk | other source | per client, author's claim |
| Plumber Follow-Up Bot | Home Services | 6–8 hrs/wk | other source | — |
| Quote Follow-Up Bot | Insurance & Financial Advisors | 6.5 hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor claim |
| Meeting Follow-Up Writer | Sales Teams | 6+ hrs/wk | other source | per salesperson, consultant case study |
| Advisor Meeting Notes Bot | Insurance & Financial Advisors | ~6 hrs/wk | maker claim | per person, 4 advisors, vendor claim |
| Weave Reminder and Review Texts | Health & Wellness | ~6 hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor case study |
| SaneBox Email Sorter | Any Business | ~5 hrs/wk | other source | case study |
| Adit Reminder Bot | Health & Wellness | 5 hrs/wk | maker claim | vendor case study |
| Speed-to-Lead Caller | Sales Teams | 3–5 hrs/wk | other source | consultant case study |
| Gamma Proposal and Report Maker | Agencies & Marketing | ~3.5 hrs/wk | other source | owner's report, team total |
| New Client Onboarder | Consultants & Coaches | ~3 hrs/wk | other source | author's claim |
| Quote Comparison Helper | Insurance & Financial Advisors | ~2 hrs/wk | maker claim | per person, 200+ person agency, vendor case study |
How we got these numbers
- We counted every listing in the BusyWorkBots directory data as of Oct 25, 2026: 155 listings, added from Oct 17, 2026 to Oct 25, 2026.
- Industry, job, type and setup are the labels on each listing. We grouped similar job labels (for example, “email follow-up” and “lead follow-up” both count as follow-ups and emails).
- Prices come from each listing's cost line, which comes from the maker or the source. For each ready-made tool that shows a monthly dollar price, we used the lowest one shown. The “middle” price is the median: half the tools start lower and half start higher.
- Hours saved come from each listing's source. When the number comes from the company that sells the tool, we label it a maker claim. For a range like 3 to 5 hours we used the middle (4). “About 6” counts as 6 and “6+” counts as 6. Some sources count hours per person or per client. We do not mix in our own estimates (“est.”); those are counted on their own.
- Source site is the website that each listing's source link points to.
- Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number, so some tables may not add up to exactly 100%.
- We do not test every tool. If you see a mistake, email hello@busyworkbots.com.
Read more on how we pick tools.
Cite this report
You are welcome to quote these numbers. Please link back to this page.
BusyWorkBots Editorial Team. “Small Business AI Tools in 2026: What 155 Listings Show.” BusyWorkBots, Oct 25, 2026. https://busyworkbots.com/reports/small-business-ai-tools-2026/
Common questions
How many AI tools for small businesses does BusyWorkBots list?
As of Oct 25, 2026, BusyWorkBots lists 155 AI tools and automations across 10 industries. 106 are ready-made software and 49 are do-it-yourself automations.
What do small business AI tools cost?
Among the 58 ready-made tools that list a monthly price, the middle starting price is $34 a month. The range is $5 to $399 a month. Prices come from each maker and can change, so check the maker's site.
How many hours do AI tools save a small business?
Only 28 of 155 listings have an hours-saved number from a source, and 11 of those come from the maker. The middle number is 9 hours a week. Some sources count per person or per client, so use it as a rough guide.
What is the most common job for small business AI tools?
Follow-ups and emails: 46 of 155 listings (30%). Answering calls and booking and scheduling come next, with 19 listings each.
Are these AI tools free?
The BusyWorkBots directory is free to search. The tools are not all free: prices come from each maker. 53 listings mention a free plan, trial, or option, and 50 of those also list paid plans or extra costs.
Where do these numbers come from?
Every number on this page is counted from the BusyWorkBots listings data as of Oct 25, 2026. We did not survey anyone or test every tool. See “How we got these numbers” on this page and our How we pick page.
Numbers as of Oct 25, 2026. Hours are as each source states them; maker claims are labeled. The directory is free to search; prices come from each maker. Browse all 155 listings.
