We hear a lot about how artificial intelligence will change our future. It’s expected to transform fields like health care, education, data analysis and transportation — and in many ways it already has.
Hundreds of small business owners and entrepreneurs gathered in Scottsdale last month to talk strategy at the Grow2025 Conference, presented by the public company Thryv, which specializes in helping the little guy.
Joe Walsh is CEO of Texas-based Thryv.
“We’re a software company. We work with small businesses, help them get found by customers, help them convert that interest into a sale, and then help them nurture those customers so they come back in the future," Walsh said.
Lately, Walsh said, the AI landscape has been shifting rapidly as humans, especially young people, have become more comfortable with it. He believes it could be a game-changer for his clients.
“You know, when you have a new paradigm that shows up, whatever it is, it sort of breaks down some of the incumbent advantages and opens the playing field to go again,” Walsh said.
“There’s a brand new way to play. When the internet showed up, that happened. When the advent of mobile that happened. That’s happening now with AI," he added.
How it’s happening depends on the business, of course.
Roofer: 'It is already been used in the industry'
Jennifer George is owner of Northern Arizona Roof Services in Flagstaff.
“AI is limited for us right now. We use drones. There’s also programs like Eagleview or GAF Measure that uses satellites to measure the roofs and then report to us square footages and all that information. So, it is already been used in the industry," George said.
George added they also use it for appointments and other automated reminders and will soon need to implement it for just about everything.
Chimney inspector: 'How I can improve'
Angela Okyere is in a similar business. She’s a product manager for Phoenix-based ChimSpect, which specializes in chimney inspection software.
“I use AI every single day to organize my business and to get better at what I do," Okyere said.
It’s a virtual right-hand man for her.
“For all of us, it’s really easy to say, ‘help me edit this email’, but that’s just the very basic level of what it can do. How can you analyze my website? What do I need to change? How am I matching up with my competitors? What can I do to improve? Asking it how I can improve, I mean it’s just amazing," Okyere said.
Marketer: 'Our processes are getting faster'
From roofs and chimneys to video production. Patrick Noone is VP of marketing at Scottsdale-based MultiMedia Communications.
“So, AI is impacting us in a variety of ways, but it’s not replacing us. We’re using it mostly like on technology and editing and the cameras, so our processes are getting faster and becoming more affordable," Noone said.
But he said they aren’t yet replacing humans in his business, and hopefully never will.
“I’m concerned about that. There’s a lot of AI that can pseudo-human people right. I don’t think there’s gonna be a full replacement. There’s still a one to one. There’s still a relationship part of it, and that’s what we really focus on," Noone said.
Dentist: 'It’s changing every day'
Meanwhile, could you be soon visiting your AI dentist?
Dr. Kamran Ruintan has been working on teeth for more than 30 years in the Valley.
“It’s changing every day. But right now we’re just using it for appointments, for reminders, for basically advertising and marketing, but it’s coming," Ruintan said.
Could AI get inside your mouth and replace your dentist?
“I hope not,” Ruintan laughs. But it will get close, I bet.”
Psychic: 'It has helped my business tremendously'
And who better than a fortune teller to ask about the future of artificial intelligence.
Bob Stahl is a professional psychic.
“I use AI to take the information that I get from the spirits or guides or whatever you want to call that, and turn it in to blog posts or emails and that kind of thing. So I use it to save time.”
His prediction:
“Clearly, it’s going to have a bigger role in our lives and our economies and all of those places. I feel like there does need to be some sense of control on it, but I feel like there are some many other positive things about it because it has helped my business tremendously," Stahl said.
And while some say AI could end the world, Thryv's Walsh also believes the benefits will outweigh the negatives.
“I think the net positive is enormous. And obviously every good thing comes with a couple of bad things, so there are ways we’ll have to guard against it and protect it and people will find some diabolical things to do with it. But I think there’s a huge net positive.”
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