🍕AI, SMBs, & the Economy—Plus: AI powered pizza?, suspicious chatbot math, and some surprising Reddit takes.
Welcome back to AI for Small Business!
We’re tracking the latest AI trends, tools, and economic signals that matter to SMBs like yours. This issue is packed with insight—AI agents keep getting smarter (and more useful), Gen Z is redefining the workforce, and tariff chatter is stirring up recession fears again. Also: AI pizza?, suspicious chatbot math, and some surprising Reddit takes.
Let’s dig in 👇
💼 The Economy: Tariffs, Recession Warnings & Weird AI Math
Economic uncertainty is rearing its head again—this time with a heavy side of tariff tension. With new trade barriers on the table, analysts are warning of a recession, and yes, someone thinks the math behind the tariff proposals might have been written by a chatbot (we wish we were joking).
🔗 Trump’s New Tariffs Could Spike Recession Risks (Investing.com)
New tariff proposals are raising concerns among economists that a U.S. and global recession could be on the horizon. If you depend on imported goods or global suppliers, it might be time to look at alternate sourcing—or at least shore up your cash cushion.
🔗 Recession Odds Jump After Tariff Announcement (Quartz)
A 70% chance of recession? That’s the latest projection from economists watching the tariff drama unfold. As an SMB, planning ahead now could save a ton of stress later—think about pricing, inventory, and customer demand shifts.
🔗 Critics Say Tariff Math May Have Come From a Chatbot (Ars Technica)
This one’s wild: critics are questioning if the numbers behind the proposed tariffs were AI-generated, because they literally don’t add up. It’s a good reminder that AI still needs guardrails—especially when it’s shaping policy.
🧠 AI Tools, Agents & Interfaces: What’s Working (and What’s Not)
We’re entering the "real-world deployment" phase of AI agents—where tools are less about flashy demos and more about getting actual work done. Retailers are leading the way, but there’s plenty of signal for SMBs here.
🔗 Retail Execs Talk Real AI Use Cases (Retail Dive)
Big retailers are using AI for everything from inventory forecasting to customer service automation.
Even if your biz is small, the principles apply—start simple, solve a pain point, and scale what works. We’re interested in what starting points you’re thinking about - marketing? automation? Let us know!
🔗 How to Leverage LLMs for Product Strategy (Reddit)
One SMB owner asks how to use language models to improve product development—and gets some solid advice.
LLMs aren’t just for writing blogs—they can help you brainstorm SKUs, name products, or shape your roadmap. Btw, our Answers product would love to help you with these things!
🔗 A Litmus Test for AI Agents (Tines)
What makes a “good” AI agent? This framework breaks down what’s working and what’s just noise.
If you're testing AI internally, use this to gut-check your tools: are they saving time, or just sounding smart?
🔗 The Case Against Conversational Interfaces (Julian.digital)
A skeptical take on chatbot-style interfaces argues that “conversational” doesn’t always equal useful.
As a business owner, it’s refreshing to hear that it’s okay to want clarity over cleverness. As people building AI products, it’s just more signal that we’re still in the early stages of figuring out what the best interface is for these new capabilities.
🔗 AI Pizza Ordering with Google (WSBTV)
Papa John’s now uses Google’s AI to streamline ordering—voice-based, super fast, and kind of impressive.
🔗 NVIDIA on AI-Powered Online Shopping
NVIDIA highlights how AI agents are making online shopping more personalized—and more profitable. This is about online shopping, but it’s really about data - making better use of customer data to provide better experiences. We expect AI to accelerate this trend, both online and in-store.
🔗 Using AI with Purpose (PHCPPros)
This piece argues for “useful” over “trendy” when it comes to adopting AI in business.
It’s a helpful mindset shift—don’t adopt tech just because it’s hot. Adopt it because it solves a real problem.
📊 Hiring & Workforce: Gen Z, AI Fears, and Culture Shifts
Hiring continues to be one of the trickiest parts of running a small business. Gen Z wants more than just a paycheck, and everyone’s trying to figure out where humans fit in the AI future.
🔗 Why Gen Z Is Saying No to Work (Fortune)
It’s not laziness—Gen Z is turning down work that doesn’t align with their values or mental health priorities.
For small business owners, this is your cue to rethink culture, flexibility, and how you communicate purpose.
🔗 How the Public (and Experts) Feel About AI (Pew Research)
The public is torn: excited about AI’s promise, worried about job loss and bias. Experts feel the same.
If you're implementing AI, transparency with your team can go a long way toward building trust.
🛠️ Tools & Ops: Is Angie’s List Still Worth It?
Reddit’s buzzing with small biz owners re-evaluating tools like Angie’s List. With platforms shifting and leads drying up, it might be time to reassess your channels.
🔗 Is Angie’s List Still Worth It? (Reddit)
Mixed reviews here—some say it’s still good for niche local leads, others say it’s lost its edge.
Our thoughts: AI is disrupting your service providers in a major way. Be curious about new upstarts and established companies delivering new capabilities. If a platform isn’t delivering, cut it loose.
🔗 Crisp Acquires Shelf Engine to Fight Food Waste (Talk Business)
This acquisition could help food-focused SMBs reduce waste and improve margins.
Worth keeping an eye on if you run a cafe, grocery, or catering biz—better forecasting = better profits. This continues the trend of using data and analytics to make better decisions around “hard costs”.
✨ What’s Showing Up in Your Business?
Between the AI rollouts, recession worries, and shifting workforce vibes, there’s a lot to process. But here’s the through-line: the tools are getting better, and the pressure to adapt is real.
What AI tools are you testing? What’s keeping you up at night? Hit reply and let us know—we’d love to feature your story in an upcoming issue.
Until next time,
– Team MarketStreet