Quick wins, hidden risks: The AI guide every small business needs

David Zey Gerry Pitt

December 1, 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the shiny new tool everyone’s talking about.

Or, if you have named your AI, it’s your digital intern and teammate (mine is named Chaz).

It writes emails, crunches numbers, answers customer questions and even helps spot cyber threats before they happen.

For small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs), AI promises to save time, money and maybe even a few headaches.

But – and there’s always a “but” in technology – AI also opens new doors for hackers, scammers and digital mischief-makers.

As one security leader put it: “It’s great that AI lets you go fast, but you’d better make sure you’re going fast in the right direction.”

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to be an expert to stay safe or keep up with the future of AI.

You just need to surround yourself with the right people and the right plan, which may include trusted IT partners, security pros and advisors who can help you and your team use AI responsibly.

Think of it like hiring a good accountant: you don’t have to love tax code – you just need someone who does.

If you approach AI with curiosity and caution and not fear, it can be a huge advantage.

You don’t need to know how the algorithms work.

You just need to know what questions to ask and who to call when things get weird.

AI adoption: Moving faster than your IT guy can blink

A few years ago, it took companies years to move to the cloud.

Now, businesses are adopting AI tools at a pace that rivals the rush for the latest office gadgets. 

The same thing is happening on a smaller scale everywhere.

Business owners are experimenting with chatbots to handle customer inquiries, AI assistants to write social media posts and tools that automate bookkeeping, scheduling and marketing.

Here’s the problem: not everyone is checking with IT before diving in.

A recent study found that more than half of people using AI at work never got security training, and 43% admitted to feeding sensitive company data into AI platforms without telling the boss.

That means your new marketing assistant might be asking ChatGPT to write emails while using your confidential pricing data as examples.

Or your HR manager could be uploading resumes into an AI screening tool that stores data, who knows where.

Everyone wants quick wins with AI.

And sure, those early successes feel great – the first automated report that saves an hour, the chatbot that answers customers at 2 a.m.

But here’s the hard truth: quick wins don’t always mean secure wins.

Progressive AI adopters see success early, only to realize later they’ve inherited the responsibility of securing that success once users start relying on it.

Once AI takes off inside your business, the conversation shifts from “what can this tool do?” to “how do we make sure it’s safe now that everyone’s using it?”

Suddenly, security guardrails become their own major project.

And without planning, that’s where a lot of well-intentioned “quick wins” turn into long-term headaches.

The lesson?

Move fast but make sure you’re laying a solid foundation as you advance.

That’s where having a reliable technology partner becomes invaluable.

Someone who can help you keep pace without leaving the door unlocked.

Top AI cybersecurity risks for SMBs

AI is powerful, but it’s also a hacker magnet.

For small and midsize businesses, the biggest threats are human-centered and easy to overlook:

1. AI-powered phishing – Scammers use AI to craft flawless emails, fake voices and videos. One click can cost thousands.
2. Data leakage – Employees accidentally share sensitive info with public AI tools. Once it’s out, it’s gone.
3. Adversarial and API attacks – Hackers manipulate inputs or exploit APIs to disrupt systems and steal data.
4. Data poisoning and model theft – Attackers corrupt training data or clone your AI logic, exposing IP and accuracy.
5. Rare but severe risks – Backdoors, hardware exploits and hidden triggers can cause catastrophic failures.

Focus on the most common risks like phishing, data leaks and weak security practices.

The real danger isn’t the algorithms – it’s how people use them.

Surround yourself with experts and put guardrails in place.

What the security pros are saying

CrowdStrike’s 2024 survey of more than a thousand cybersecurity professionals found that even the experts are approaching AI with cautious optimism.

Their main takeaways are refreshingly simple:

• Keep it in the family – eight out of 10 experts want AI tools that plug into their existing security systems, not random apps downloaded from the internet. Integration beats improvisation.
• Purpose matters – they trust AI built by cybersecurity pros, not a general-purpose chatbot pretending to understand ransomware.
• It’s a helper, not a replacement – AI might make your IT team faster, but it’s not firing them anytime soon.
• ROI rules – the big question isn’t “how much does AI cost?” but “does it actually make us safer and save time?”
• Guardrails, please – almost 90% of companies are writing policies about how AI can (and can’t) be used at work.

In other words, the pros aren’t running from AI – they’re putting up fences around it.

For small businesses, this might mean creating a short internal policy that says what AI tools employees are allowed to use, what kind of information they can share and who they should talk to if they’re unsure.

That one page of guidance can save you a lot of trouble later.

And again, you don’t have to write it yourself.

This is where a lightweight written guideline or a quick review from your IT team can prevent issues later.

Five ways to keep your AI from going rogue

1. Know what your team is using. Don’t assume people aren’t experimenting with AI – they are. Talk about it. Create some ground rules.
2. Treat data like gold. Your customer lists, financial records and pricing models are your crown jewels. Make sure they never get uploaded into a public AI tool.
3. Update passwords and permissions. Use multi-factor authentication everywhere you can. Keep access tight. If everyone can touch your AI tools, everyone can accidentally break them.
4. Audit regularly. A quick “AI check-up” every few months helps spot weird behavior before it becomes a crisis. Many IT providers now offer AI readiness assessments, an easy way to catch vulnerabilities early.
5. Teach your humans. Your employees are the first line of defense. Train them to recognize suspicious emails, deepfakes and too-good-to-be-true offers. (Spoiler: they’re usually not true.)

If that list feels like a lot, relax.

You don’t have to do it alone.

That’s exactly why managed IT services and cybersecurity consultants exist.

Think of them as your “digital pit crew” keeping your systems tuned up while you focus on running the race.

The human side of AI security

The difference between businesses that thrive with AI and those that get burned isn’t how technical they are – it’s leadership.

Deploying AI safely requires the same sponsorship from corporate leaders as running an effective overall security program.

In other words, you don’t need to be a tech genius – you just need to care enough to ask the right questions.

If you’re a small or mid-size business owner, here’s your new mantra: “I don’t have to be the expert – I just need to have the experts in my corner.”

That could mean having a trusted IT provider on speed dial, working with a cybersecurity consultant or even designating a curious employee to stay on top of AI trends.

Your job is to lead, not to debug code.

And remember that part about “quick wins”?

Once your AI projects start working (automating reports, improving customer engagement, speeding up tasks), that’s when your responsibility grows.

Success itself demands governance.

Security stops being a “future issue” and becomes an everyday conversation.

The real win isn’t getting AI up and running – it’s keeping it running securely.

The bottom line: Don’t fear the future, partner with it

AI isn’t out to get us – it just needs supervision.

Used wisely, it can help small and midsize businesses punch above their weight, streamline operations and even catch cyber threats before humans do.

Used carelessly, it can leak your secrets faster than a talkative intern.

So, go ahead and embrace AI but make sure you give it boundaries, teach it good manners and have a few smart people who know how to keep it out of trouble.

You don’t need to become an AI expert.

Just make sure the right people are in your corner.

After all, in the race to adopt AI, cybersecurity isn’t the brake, it’s the steering wheel.

And with the right team in the passenger seat, you can drive confidently into the future.