The directory

14 AI tools for UK small businesses, plus a motor trade section. We only list a tool if AI does the actual job, and every card says what the AI does. Prices come from each company's own pricing page, last checked on 18 October 2026. Where a company only shows US dollars or won't publish a price, we say so. Prices change, so check before you buy.

Affiliate links: if we ever earn money from a link, we'll always say so next to it. None of the links on this page are affiliate links, and none of these companies pay us.

For every small business

AI call answering 3

Cyberstaff

What the AI actually does: An AI voice agent answers your calls 24/7. It holds a natural conversation, takes the caller's details, books them into your calendar, sends SMS follow-ups and transfers the call to you when needed. You divert your existing number to it.

Price: Starter £30/month (100 minutes, about 50 calls); Growth £75/month (300 minutes); Scale £120/month (600 minutes). Extra minutes 30p/25p/20p. 7-day free trial, no card, no contract. VAT not stated.

Launched / AI since: 2025 (company founded 2025; Cyberstaff Ltd incorporated 20 Oct 2025 per Companies House data via a third-party site).

Suits: Any small business that misses calls while it's busy with customers and wants them answered without paying for a receptionist.

Our verdict: Strengths: clear UK pricing from £30 a month, no contract, a 7-day trial with no card, and you keep your own number. Weaknesses: you pay by the minute, so long calls use up Starter's 100 minutes quickly (roughly 50 short calls), the page doesn't say whether VAT is on top, and the firm is only about a year old. Worth it? Yes, as a low-risk trial. Start on Starter and watch your minutes for a month.

Jason's take: Subscribed 13 Oct 2026; currently testing it.

Moneypenny AI Receptionist

What the AI actually does: AI receptionist that answers calls, qualifies leads, books appointments, handles FAQs and routes calls 24/7. When a call is complex, or the caller is frustrated or asks for a person, it hands over to a live Moneypenny receptionist or your own team.

Price: Price on request.

Launched / AI since: Launched commercially October 2024 (Moneypenny's own blog).

Suits: Businesses that want AI call answering but with real people as a safety net, and are happy to go through a sales call.

Our verdict: Strengths: an established UK answering firm, AI with a human backstop, and setup done with a specialist rather than left to you. Weaknesses: no published price, and you have to go through a discovery call to get started. Worth it? If a botched call would really cost you, yes. For a one-person business, cheaper self-serve options make more sense.

While You Work

What the AI actually does: An AI voice answers calls you miss in your business name, asks the right questions, flags emergencies and texts or emails you the details. Add-ons use the same AI to answer website chat, enquiry emails and Facebook/Instagram messages, and to book jobs with a deposit link.

Price: AI Voice £49/month including VAT (founding offer for the first 20 members per group; standard price £69). Add-ons: Web Chat £25, Email £15, Social £15, Voice Booking and Pay £99 (per month, inc. VAT). First week on a live line free, no contract.

Launched / AI since: Not verified.

Suits: Trades, salons, driving instructors and other sole traders who want one flat price including VAT and no minutes to count.

Our verdict: Strengths: a flat VAT-inclusive price, UK-built, and one AI covering calls, web chat, email and social messages. Weaknesses: a small, young firm, and the calls side is built to take a callback rather than solve the caller's problem on the spot. Worth it? For a sole trader who just needs every call caught, yes.

AI enquiry and chat 1

While You Work

What the AI actually does: An AI voice answers calls you miss in your business name, asks the right questions, flags emergencies and texts or emails you the details. Add-ons use the same AI to answer website chat, enquiry emails and Facebook/Instagram messages, and to book jobs with a deposit link.

Price: AI Voice £49/month including VAT (founding offer for the first 20 members per group; standard price £69). Add-ons: Web Chat £25, Email £15, Social £15, Voice Booking and Pay £99 (per month, inc. VAT). First week on a live line free, no contract.

Launched / AI since: Not verified.

Suits: Trades, salons, driving instructors and other sole traders who want one flat price including VAT and no minutes to count.

Our verdict: Strengths: a flat VAT-inclusive price, UK-built, and one AI covering calls, web chat, email and social messages. Weaknesses: a small, young firm, and the calls side is built to take a callback rather than solve the caller's problem on the spot. Worth it? For a sole trader who just needs every call caught, yes.

AI review replies 1

Revio

What the AI actually does: Reads every new Google review, scores it for sentiment and risk, and writes a reply in your tone that mentions what the customer actually said. Low-risk 4- and 5-star replies are scheduled to post automatically (with 24 hours for you to edit or cancel). Negative or sensitive reviews are held for your approval.

Price: Starter £7.99/month for one Google Business Profile location. No setup fee, cancel any time.

Launched / AI since: Not verified.

Suits: Local businesses with a steady flow of Google reviews and no time to answer them.

Our verdict: Strengths: very cheap, and safe by default (it never auto-posts anything negative). Weaknesses: Google only, one location per plan, and it's a small founder-run product, so support depends on one person. Worth it? At £7.99, yes, if unanswered reviews are piling up. Read the first few replies before you trust it.

AI receipts and bookkeeping 1

Dext

What the AI actually does: You photograph or forward receipts and supplier invoices, and AI reads the supplier, date, amounts and VAT, categorises them and posts them to Xero, QuickBooks and others. The AI Assist add-on makes everyday bookkeeping calls for you to approve.

Price: Business plan from £24.17/month billed annually (£290/year) or £30/month monthly, excl. VAT. Includes 250 documents/month and 5 users. AI Assist add-on £7.50/month.

Launched / AI since: Launch date of AI Assist not verified. The add-on is priced at an introductory rate 'until 31 Jan 2027'.

Suits: Businesses with a pile of receipts and supplier bills each month whose accountant keeps chasing paperwork.

Our verdict: Strengths: AI data extraction is the whole point, it plugs into the big accounts packages, and the base plan includes 5 users. Weaknesses: it's another subscription on top of your accounts software, and annual plans need 30 days' notice to cancel. Worth it? Yes if you have dozens of receipts a month. Not for a handful.

AI social and content 1

Canva (Canva AI)

What the AI actually does: Canva AI turns a typed request into designs, images and text for social posts, flyers and short videos, and can resize or rewrite them for different channels.

Price: Free plan available. Paid prices were shown to us only in USD (Pro US$144/year, Business US$250/year per person). Canva shows local prices by location, so check the £ price on Canva's site.

Launched / AI since: Canva AI launched 10 April 2025 with Visual Suite 2.0 (Canva newsroom).

Suits: Any business doing its own social posts and marketing without a designer.

Our verdict: Strengths: fast, a generous free plan, and AI that saves real time on first drafts. Weaknesses: it's easy to end up looking like everyone else's templates, and we couldn't confirm the £ price. Worth it? Yes on the free plan. Pay for Pro once you're posting every week.

Jason's take: Has used it a bit.

AI quoting 0

Nothing good enough yet. We're still looking, and we won't pad the list.

AI assistants and agents 2

ChatGPT

What the AI actually does: General AI assistant. It drafts emails, quotes, adverts, social posts and review replies, summarises documents, and answers questions from files you upload.

Price: USD only on the page we saw: Free $0; Go $8/month; Plus $20/month; Pro from $100/month. UK price in £ not verified.

Launched / AI since: Launched 30 November 2022 (OpenAI).

Suits: Anyone who writes a lot and wants a first draft in seconds.

Our verdict: Strengths: the free plan is genuinely useful for drafting and summarising. Weaknesses: it only knows what you tell it, and it can state things confidently that aren't true, so check every fact before it goes to a customer. Worth it? The free plan, yes. Only pay if you use it every day.

Jason's take: Has used it a bit.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Business

What the AI actually does: AI inside Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams. It works on your own emails and files to summarise threads, draft replies and documents, and build spreadsheets.

Price: From £13.80 per user/month paid yearly (offer; normally £16.10), excl. VAT. Bundles: Business Standard with Copilot £18.10, Business Premium with Copilot £24.60 per user/month paid yearly.

Launched / AI since: Generally available 1 December 2025 (Microsoft; announced at Ignite, 18 Nov 2025).

Suits: Small firms already running email and documents on Microsoft 365.

Our verdict: Strengths: it works on your own inbox and files, so there's less copy-and-paste than with a standalone chatbot. Weaknesses: it's a per-user cost on top of Microsoft 365, and it's no use if you're on Google. Worth it? Trial it if you live in Outlook and Excel. Don't switch to Microsoft just for it.

Motor trade

Advert and listing writing 1

Motor trade

Auto Trader Co-Driver

What the AI actually does: Writes the advert description from the vehicle's spec and Auto Trader's data, highlights in-demand features, puts photos in the best order and flags missing shots.

Price: Included with Auto Trader used car and van advertising packages. Package prices on request (not published).

Launched / AI since: Smart Image Management launched November 2024; AI Generated Descriptions and Vehicle Highlights launched 26 February 2025 (Auto Trader press releases).

Suits: Any dealer already advertising on Auto Trader.

Our verdict: Strengths: already paid for, built on Auto Trader's own spec data, and one click per car. Weaknesses: it only helps on Auto Trader, and similar cars get similar descriptions (Auto Trader itself tells you to add your own tone). Worth it? Yes, use it and then edit. It does nothing for Marketplace, eBay or social.

Jason's take: Has used it for writing adverts.

Vehicle photo and video 2

Motor trade

Spyne

What the AI actually does: Turns phone photos of vehicles into studio-style images (background replacement, plate blurring, window clean-up), and makes 360 spins and video tours.

Price: Price on request. Tailored to monthly stock volume and number of sites.

Launched / AI since: Company founded 2020 (Spyne's own blog).

Suits: Dealers with no photo studio who want consistent stock photos.

Our verdict: Strengths: makes a messy forecourt look professional and consistent. Weaknesses: no published price, and an overdone fake background can put buyers off. Worth it? Get a quote and test it on a handful of cars first.

Motor trade

Phyron

What the AI actually does: Automatically turns your existing vehicle photos and spec data into enhanced images and videos for your website, marketplaces and social ads, and publishes them.

Price: Price on request (demo-led). The homepage offers '50+ ads for free'.

Launched / AI since: Company founded 2019 (Stockholm).

Suits: Dealers who want a video on every car without filming anything.

Our verdict: Strengths: video at scale from photos you already have. Weaknesses: the price is behind a demo, and in the UK it seems to sell mainly through partners. Worth it? Worth a look for video ads. Get a price before you spend time on it.

Dealer calls and chat 3

Motor trade

CarBuddy AI

What the AI actually does: Automotive-trained AI that answers inbound sales and service calls, runs a stock-aware website chat that books sales and service appointments, and runs outbound campaigns to re-engage existing customers (lost sales, health-check follow-ups, finance renewals).

Price: Price on request (demo-led).

Launched / AI since: Launched as Car Buddy Chat in December 2024 (founders' LinkedIn posts; not on CarBuddy's own site).

Suits: Franchise dealers and groups with a big customer database and a DMS/CRM to connect it to.

Our verdict: Strengths: built specifically for UK car retail, covering calls, chat and follow-ups in one platform, and it says it works with your existing DMS, CRM and phones. Weaknesses: no published price, and it's clearly aimed at franchise groups rather than small independents. Worth it? For a franchise or multi-site group, worth a demo. Small independents should start with a simpler call or chat tool.

Motor trade

Carso

What the AI actually does: A website chat widget that answers questions from your real stock, books test drives, captures the buyer's details and intent, and passes complex finance questions to your team.

Price: Free during pilot (limited places). Listed future plans: Starter £149/month (500 conversations), Pro £299/month (2,000 conversations), Enterprise custom.

Launched / AI since: Not verified. In pilot as of October 2026 ('paid plans launch later this year').

Suits: Independent dealers whose website gets out-of-hours enquiries that go unanswered.

Our verdict: Strengths: dealer-specific, answers from your actual stock, and free to try while it's in pilot. Weaknesses: very early stage, and the listed £149/month is steep once the pilot ends. Worth it? Join the free pilot if you can, and judge it on real leads before paying.

Motor trade

Dealerbot

What the AI actually does: AI chat that recommends cars only from your available stock, takes viewing and finance enquiries, and emails each qualified lead to your sales inbox.

Price: Price on request ('early-access pricing').

Launched / AI since: Not verified. Early access as of October 2026.

Suits: Small independents who want a simple stock-aware chat that sends leads straight to email.

Our verdict: Strengths: built for UK used-car dealers and it won't invent cars. Weaknesses: early-stage, automatic stock-feed sync is still 'planned', and it runs on a dedicated page rather than a full site-wide widget (also planned). Worth it? Not yet for most. Revisit once stock sync is live.